Recent seizures of fake medical products being marketed in the COVID-19 pandemic underscore the need to curb the growing international trade in counterfeit drugs that’s putting hundreds of thousands of lives at risk, the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) warned this week.
BEIJING – Nanobody startup Sysvax Inc., with its R&D center in Beijing and manufacturing facilities in Zhongshan, is developing a recombinant protein vaccine and a nanobody therapeutic for COVID-19, while trying to extend the half-life of potential COVID-19 treatments with its expertise in this smallest possible antibody format.
BEIJING – During the market downturn caused by COVID-19 disruptions, biotech and med-tech companies continue to attract investors at a time when medical solutions are needed more than ever. Qiming Venture Partners said that it has established a new $1.1 billion fund to target early stage health care and technology investments, the latest good news sector for biopharma and med-tech startups. Known as the Qiming Venture Partners Fund VII, this $1.1 billion fund draws most of its capital from endowments, foundations, family offices and private pensions.
Two phase III studies in China testing Gilead Sciences Inc.’s antiviral drug, remdesivir, in patients with COVID-19 infection have been halted after Chinese authorities reported a lack of eligible patients. Other studies, including trials sponsored by the Foster City, Calif.-based company, remain ongoing.
BEIJING – After its masks and test kits were said to be sent back by Western countries due to complaints over poor quality, China this week required only NMPA-approved companies export their products and stepped up regulations to ensure quality.
HONG KONG – South Korea’s Osang Healthcare Co. Ltd. became the first Korean company to receive the U.S. FDA’s emergency use authorization (EUA) for its COVID-19 test kit.
BEIJING – Med-tech firm Shanghai Asclepius Meditec Co. Ltd. says it has developed a hydrogen-oxygen nebulizer that can help relieve the shortage of ventilators.
The U.S. FDA reported that it has expanded the emergency use authorization for the Labcorp polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test for SARS-CoV-2 to include the company’s Pixel self-collection kit, a development that may presage a wider testing paradigm that is needed to restore the U.S. economy to normalcy.
Regulatory snapshots, including global submissions and approvals, clinical trial approvals and other regulatory decisions and designations: Brainlab, Inspire Medical Systems, Labcorp, Roche.
