Portal Innovations will target biomedical spinouts from across the Midwest under the direction of ex-UChicago innovation veteran John Flavin.

Neil Woodford could return to the stage with a bid for some of his old assets should ongoing talks with unnamed UK-based institutional investors and wealth managers succeed.

Each Friday the Global Corporate Venturing Deal Net rounds up the week’s smaller deals and tracks the emerging companies accessing corporate funds.

MIT Media Lab-affiliated E14 Fund has invested in the biomanufacturing software provider as part of a series A round led by Cultivian Sandbox Ventures.

Cinclus Pharma has lured back corporate venturing unit Recipharm Venture Fund for a $26.4m round that will fund a phase 2 study for its GERD therapy candidate.

The wearable defibrillator developer, founded by Stanford adjunct professor Uday Kumar, has raised more than $145m that will support the launch of its lead product.

The Taiho Ventures, Memorial Sloan and Hartford HealthCare Endowment-backed cancer drug developer has filed to raise up to $86.3m.

Pliant Therapeutics has attracted $100m in a series C round led by Novartis, four years after it was founded to commercialise UC San Francisco research into fibrosis treatment.

The wearable defibrillator developer revealed GV is an existing investor as it raised more than $145m that will support the launch of its lead product.

Pliant Therapeutics has attracted $100m in a series C round led by Novartis, four years after it was founded to commercialise UC San Francisco research into fibrosis treatment.