The drug maker is spending $250m to acquire privately held Celsius and its lead candidate, a monoclonal antibody targeting TREM1 in inflammatory bowel disease.

The US major's blockbuster is already well established as a treatment for Crohn’s disease but the latest thumbs-up from the US FDA means Skyrizi is the first interleukin-23 inhibitor approved for both principal types of inflammatory bowel disease.

Private Company Edition: Scrip spoke with the leaders of Gateway Labs and Cure at the BIO International Convention about their mini ecosystems. Also, radiopharmaceutical firm ITM raised €188m ($201.9m), Santa Ana Bio emerged with $168m and Alzheon’s series E totaled $100m.

Deal snapshot: AbbVie joins peers Merck & Co., Roche and Pfizer with a TL1A-targeted antibody for potential therapy in inflammatory bowel disease, paying $150m up front.