Nanyang Biologics Pte. Ltd. has entered a $1.5 billion business combination agreement with RF Acquisition Corp II, a Nasdaq-listed special purpose acquisition company. Singapore-based Nanyang Biologics (NYB) is building a hybrid platform to revolutionize drug discovery by combining machine learning with natural compound libraries, and NYB claims it is developing one of the world’s largest AI-curated collections of bioactive compounds.

Sovargen Co. Ltd. inked a $550 million license deal with Angelini Pharma SpA, granting Angelini development and commercialization rights to SVG-105, a novel antisense oligonucleotide drug candidate in preclinical development as a potential treatment for intractable epilepsy.

Jiangsu Hengrui Pharmaceuticals Co. Ltd. struck another $1 billion-plus deal, this time for a HER2-targeting antibody-drug conjugate (ADC), trastuzumab rezetecan (SHR-A1811), with Glenmark Pharmaceuticals Ltd.’s subsidiary Glenmark Specialty SA.

Hanmi Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd. and Health Hope Pharma Ltd. may be getting a second wind for encequidar and the Orascovery platform, with Gilead Sciences Inc. picking up exclusive global rights to develop and commercialize encequidar in the field of virology for $2.5 million up front.

Clarivate plc has unveiled the 2025 Citation Laureates. Widely considered a predictor of the Nobel Prizes, this recognition has highlighted the discovery of biomolecular condensates in chemistry and the innate immunity signaling pathway in physiology or medicine, as well as the identification of leukemia stem cells and ghrelin, the so-called hunger hormone.

Rakuten Medical Inc. is advancing a pipeline of solid tumor therapeutics built on its Alluminox platform worldwide, having gained conditional early approval of ASP-1929, an Alluminox-derived photoimmunotherapy, in Japan in 2020.

Patients with relapsed/refractory multiple myeloma (r/r MM) treated with Carsgen Therapeutics Holdings Ltd.’s CAR T therapy, zevorcabtagene autoleucel (zevor-cel, CT-053), have shown durable responses lasting nearly five years.

The U.S. FDA approved Merck & Co. Inc.’s Keytruda Qlex (pembrolizumab and berahyaluronidase alfa-pmph) injection on Sept. 19, making it the first and only subcutaneously (SC)-administered immune checkpoint inhibitor that can be administered in about a minute.

Genfleet Therapeutics (Shanghai) Inc. debuted on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange on its second attempt at an IPO, raising HK$1.819 billion (US$234 million). Genfleet’s shares (HKEX:2595) rose to HK$44.00 at the opening bell on Sept. 19 and closed at HK$42.10, about 106% higher than the listing price.

Starpharma Holdings Ltd.’s stock shot up 73% on the news that it is outlicensing its dendrimer enhanced product drug delivery technology to Roche Holding AG subsidiary Genentech Inc. in a deal worth more than $569 million.