> Actelion revealed the R&D NewCo created through its takeover by Johnson & Johnson will start life with CHF 420 million ($420 million) in cash, plus a CHF 580 million convertible loan and $250 million credit facility. The convertible loan will give J&J a stake in the NewCo. And J&J has an option to pay $230 million to jointly develop ACT 132577 once it comes through a phase 2 trial. The terms of the deal prompted Jefferies to raise its fair value of the NewCo by CHF 1 a share. Prospectus (PDF)
> Germany accepted ALK’s filing for approval of a ragweed sublingual allergy immunotherapy. ALK is seeking approval of the candidate as a treatment for adults aged 18-65 with ragweed allergic rhinitis or conjunctivitis. The Danish company is seeking approval via the decentralized procedure. Release
> Auris Medical priced a $10 million (€9 million) stock offering. The Swiss biotech plans to use the money for working capital and general corporate purposes. Shares in Auris are trading well below the IPO price it secured in 2014, in part because a trial of AM-101 missed its coprimary efficacy endpoints last year. Release
> Novo A/S invested €90.3 million ($96 million) in Evotec. The investment gives Novo A/S an 8.9% stake in the German drug discovery shop. Evotec will use some of the cash to invest in its Cure X and Target X initiatives, which use its R&D capabilities to advance early-stage internal discovery programs. Release
> BIAL offloaded the North American rights to Parkinson’s disease drug Ongentys to Neurocrine. The Portuguese drugmaker, which is perhaps best known for its role in last year’s fatal drug trial, is pocketing $30 million (€28 million) upfront and up to $115 million more in milestones in exchange for the rights. Ongentys won approval in the European Union last year. Release
> Vernalis received a $3 million (€2.8 million) milestone from Corvus Pharmaceuticals. The payout was triggered by the expansion of a study of CPI-444, an adenosine receptor agonist Vernalis licensed to Corvus in 2015. Corvus is assessing the candidate in patients with advanced cancers in a phase 1/1b trial. Statement