Akeso Pharmaceuticals Inc. has raised the bar for next-generation immuno-oncology, reporting more than 23 months median overall survival in pancreatic cancer with its PD-1/CTLA-4 bispecific antibody cadonilimab, as emerging competitors begin to post earlier signals across solid tumors at the American Association for Cancer Research annual meeting in San Diego April 17 to 22.

Ribo Life Science Co. Ltd.’s HK$1.8 billion (US$230 million) raise on Jan. 9 was the sole Chinese biotech IPO on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange in the first quarter (Q1) of 2026, despite a growing backlog of more than 70 filings from China life science firms in 2025. Among med-tech companies, Hangzhou Diagens Biotechnology Co. Ltd. debuted with a $101 million Hong Kong IPO March 30, 2026.

Pilatus Bio Inc. is working to address a major under-addressed target of current checkpoint inhibitors: metabolic stress within solid tumors. “Traditional immunotherapies release immune ‘brakes,’ but they do not address the underlying metabolic stress in tumors,” Pilatus CEO and cofounder Raven Lin said. “That’s why more than 60% of solid tumor patients do not respond to treatment.”

Delta-Fly Pharma Inc. is pressing ahead with discussions with the FDA for its lead acute myeloid leukemia (AML) candidate, radgocitabine (DFP-10917), despite a phase III miss on its primary endpoint, instead leaning on earlier-stage efficacy signals and emerging combination data to support a potential path toward conditional approval.

The U.S. FDA has accepted and granted priority review to Daiichi Sankyo Co. Ltd. and Merck & Co. Inc.’s BLA of ifinatamab deruxtecan, a B7-H3-directed antibody-drug conjugate (ADC) to treat patients with advanced extensive-stage small-cell lung cancer.

Xuanzhu Biopharmaceutical Co. Ltd. reported positive data from a local phase III study of dirozalkib (Xuan Fei Ning), an ALK inhibitor approved in China to treat patients with advanced non-small-cell lung cancer.

Following its 2022 debut on Shanghai’s STAR Market, Mabwell (Shanghai) Bioscience Co. Ltd. is aiming to raise up to HK$1.44 billion (US$184.78 million) in an IPO on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange to advance its Nectin4-targeting antibody-drug conjugate (ADC) 9MW-2821 (bulumtatug fuvedotin).

A pricing standoff between Pfizer Inc. and the Australian government has left women with advanced breast cancer facing tens of thousands of dollars in out-of-pocket costs, underscoring a growing global trend in which access to life-extending drugs is increasingly being shaped by pricing negotiations rather than clinical merit.

Shanghai Junshi Biosciences Co. Ltd reported early clinical signals across its next-generation immuno-oncology pipeline, including response rates of up to 71% in metastatic colorectal cancer and 45.5% in hepatocellular carcinoma, at the American Association for Cancer Research meeting in San Diego.

Biogen Inc. has consolidated full global rights to felzartamab through an $850 million deal with TJ Biopharma Co. Ltd. April 20, closing the chapter on a complex 10-year license saga.