Tessera Therapeutics Inc., a Cambridge, Mass.-based company working to "write therapeutic instructions into the genome," has raised $230 million in series B financing to back its development of potential cures and treatments for cardiovascular, oncological, neurodegenerative and infectious diseases.

Neuros Medical Inc., a company developing neuromodulation technology to treat intractable post-amputation pain, has raised $38.5 million in a series BB financing. The funds will be used to complete enrollment in its pivotal QUEST clinical trial and to submit a premarket approval application to the U.S. FDA. New investors Amzak Health and Sectoral Asset Management co-led the round.

The attention the COVID-19 pandemic drew to the biopharma industry, the ease and convenience of virtual meetings, as well as massive amounts of available capital, all led to an extraordinary year for financings in 2020. The momentum appears to be continuing, particularly with venture capital rounds.

A decade from now, 2020 likely will be considered a year like no other in terms of the massive amounts of capital raised amid a raging pandemic. Financing transactions of all types smashed records and in terms of volume hit 1,580, a total that was 42% higher than last year despite the serious disruptions to normal business operations.

When uncertainty strikes, survival instincts flourish. That is exactly how the biopharma industry weathered 2020 and the global spread of the devastating SARS-CoV-2 virus. “The theme for 2020 was, ‘If the capital is there, take it. It’s an uncertain future’,” said Gabriel Cavazos, managing director in investment banking at SVB Leerink.