Amgen’s drug portfolio boasts several biologic drugs that are blockbuster sellers. In acquiring ChemoCentryx for $3.7 billion, the pharmaceutical giant gains a company entirely focused on developing small molecule alternatives to biologic medicines.
ShouTi Pharmaceuticals, a startup that brings computational techniques to drug discovery, has raised $100 million in Series B financing. The clinical-stage biotech designs small molecules intended to do the work of biologic and peptide drugs.