Apollo Therapeutics Group Ltd. and Sunshine Lake Pharma Co. Ltd. inked a potential $938 million licensing deal for APL-18881 (HEC-88473), Sunshine’s dual fibroblast growth factor 21 (FGF21)/glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) receptor agonist currently in a phase II study for type 2 diabetes.

More than two years since emerging from stealth, Vesalius Therapeutics Inc. signed its first major pharma deal with GSK plc. Worth up to $650 million and possibly more if an option is exercised, the multitarget alliance aims to discover and develop novel treatments for Parkinson’s disease and another neurodegenerative indication.

Flare Therapeutics Inc. will receive $70 million in cash up front from Roche Holding AG, and the deal could ultimately bring the company about $1.8 billion plus royalties. Flare will search for small molecules that can be used to treat undruggable transcription factors to treat cancer. Also, Novartis AG will pay computational-chemistry expert Schrödinger Inc. $150 million up front and as much as $2.3 billion in milestones to develop several candidates along with up to $892 million in R&D and milestone payments.

More than two years since emerging from stealth, Vesalius Therapeutics Inc. signed its first major pharma deal with GSK plc. Worth up to $650 million and possibly more if an option is exercised, the multitarget alliance aims to discover and develop novel treatments for Parkinson’s disease and another neurodegenerative indication.

Flare Therapeutics Inc. will receive $70 million in cash up front from Roche Holding AG, and the deal could ultimately bring the company about $1.8 billion plus royalties. Flare will search for small molecules that can be used to treat undruggable transcription factors to treat cancer. Also, Novartis AG will pay computational-chemistry expert Schrödinger Inc. $150 million up front and as much as $2.3 billion in milestones to develop several candidates along with up to $892 million in R&D and milestone payments.

University of Auckland senior research fellow Jeff Smaill first visited China in 2012 as part of a team of 15 scientists from the Maurice Wilkins Center, one of New Zealand’s centers of excellence, to meet with scientists at the Guangzhou Institute of Medicine and Health to find partners to collaborate on drug development projects. The scientists started collaborating that year, and the first project is already in phase I trials in China. It was a joint discovery and development partnership from the beginning, he said.

Alteogen Inc. scored another deal for its human recombinant enzyme, ALT-B4, on Nov. 8, reeling in Daiichi Sankyo Co. Ltd. in a potential $300 million deal including $20 million up front and up to $280 million in milestone payments, along with royalties based on net sales.

Alteogen Inc. scored another deal for its human recombinant enzyme, ALT-B4, on Nov. 8, reeling in Daiichi Sankyo Co. Ltd. in a potential $300 million deal including $20 million up front and up to $280 million in milestone payments, along with royalties based on net sales.

Allovir Inc., which has struggled since late last December, will merge with privately held Kalaris Therapeutics Inc. to develop therapies for treating neovascular and exudative retinal diseases. Kalaris already has an anti-VEGF treatment in a phase I study with a data readout set for the third quarter of 2025. Once the deal closes, the combined company name will be Kalaris Therapeutics Inc. and shares will trade on Nasdaq as KLRS. The new company said it plans to drive development of TH-103 for treating neovascular age-related macular degeneration (nAMD), diabetic macular edema and retinal vein occlusion. The phase I study is for treatment of nAMD.

University of Auckland senior research fellow Jeff Smaill first visited China in 2012 as part of a team of 15 scientists from the Maurice Wilkins Center, one of New Zealand’s centers of excellence, to meet with scientists at the Guangzhou Institute of Medicine and Health to find partners to collaborate on drug development projects. The scientists started collaborating that year, and the first project is already in phase I trials in China. It was a joint discovery and development partnership from the beginning, he said.