Strategic shifts by Merrimack Pharmaceuticals Inc. and Vical Inc. took different turns during the last week of August, which was predictably quiet ahead of the long Labor Day weekend in the US in terms of new biopharmaceutical company financings.
Finance Watch: Summer Slowdown Nears Its End With Strategic Shifts And IPO Hopes
Merrimack's wind-down continues with an activist challenge, but investors approved the Vical/Brickell Biotech reverse merger. Also, the past month's IPO slump may reverse course and HiFiBiO's $67m Series C leads recent financings.

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Private Company Edition: The latest group of drug developers to announce venture capital financings is remarkable for its geographic diversity, from Character Biosciences’ $93m series B round in the US to Augustine’s $85m series B in Belgium to a $29.2m series C for Aculys in Japan.
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Supply chain disruption fears at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic caused drug over-ordering. Imminent tariffs on drugs may have had a similar effect on pharma sales in Q1 earnings season.
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