In a deal that could reach nearly $2 billion, Jiangsu Hengrui Pharmaceuticals Co. Ltd. has licensed a small molecule for treating cardiovascular disease to Merck & Co. Inc., dropping the China-based company into a space with lots of competitors in varying stages of development.

It has been previously shown that the nuclear receptor subfamily 4 group A (NR4A) plays an important role in cardiovascular pathophysiology. Researchers from Shanghai Jiao Tong University thus aimed to assess the expression profile of NR4A in platelets and the biological functions of this nuclear receptor in platelet aggregation.

Eight months after announcing the $18.5 million first tranche of its series A, Augustine Therapeutics has closed the oversubscribed round at $85 million and is now ready to begin clinical development of its novel histone deacetylase-6 (HDAC6) inhibitors.