Bridge Biotherapeutics Inc. inked an exclusive in-license agreement for Shaperon Inc.’s G protein-coupled receptor 19 (GPCR19) agonist, BBT-209, a potential treatment for idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis. Bridge will pay Shaperon ₩2 billion (US$1.63 million) up front. The potential deal value, which includes up-front, milestone, and royalty payments, is ₩30 billion.

Genequantum Healthcare Co. Ltd. will work with Aimedbio Inc. to co-develop an antibody-drug conjugate (ADC) to treat brain and other cancers, working toward an IND filing in 2023. Aimedbio will focus on antibody development, while Genequantum will work on linker-payload development. “Since we have a plan to market and sell the product globally, we will conduct a phase I clinical trial in the U.S., Australia, South Korea, and China as a priority,” Do-Hyun Nam, founder, chairman, and chief technology officer of Aimedbio, told BioWorld.

Blackrock Neurotech LLC has acquired spatial computing software startup Mindx Corp. to advance full-stack brain-computer interface (BCI) products. As part of the transaction, Mindx’s augmented reality (AR) and artificial intelligence (AI) technology will be integrated with Blackrock’s BCI hardware.

Metabolic health platform Ultrahuman Healthcare Ltd. has acquired consumer wearable company Lazy Design Pvt Ltd. India (known as Lazyco) to expand the biomarkers complementing its current wearable, the Ultrahuman M1.

Inoviq Ltd. and The University of Queensland (UQ) are expanding a collaboration to develop an exosome-based ovarian cancer screening test. Researchers from UQ identified and validated exosomal protein and micro-RNA (miRNA) biomarkers that when combined in its OCRF-7 algorithm showed more than 90% accuracy to detect stages I and II ovarian cancer in an independent 500-sample retrospective case-control study, Inoviq CEO Leearne Hinch told BioWorld.

Bridge Biotherapeutics Inc. inked an exclusive in-license agreement for Shaperon Inc.’s G protein-coupled receptor 19 (GPCR19) agonist, BBT-209, a potential treatment for idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis. Bridge will pay Shaperon ₩2 billion (US$1.63 million) up front. The potential deal value, which includes up-front, milestone, and royalty payments, is ₩30 billion.

China’s Amoy Diagnostics Co. Ltd. (Amoydx) signed a development and commercialization agreement under which Amoy will develop multiple companion diagnostics for Astrazeneca plc across China, the E.U. and Japan.