BEIJING – Suzhou, China-based Ascentage Pharma Group Inc. said on June 22 that it is working with Astrazeneca plc’s hematology R&D unit, Acerta Pharma, to develop a combination therapy of its Bcl-2 inhibitor, APG-2575, with Acerta's BTK inhibitor, Calquence (acalabrutinib). The first patient has been dosed in the U.S.
BEIJING – CAR T therapy developer JW Therapeutics (Shanghai) Co. Ltd. raised another $100 million this week after securing $90 million in series A round in 2018. The funds will continue to go toward its lead program, JWCAR-029, a CAR T-cell product targeting CD19 that is now in a phase II study.
HONG KONG – China’s Shanghai Junshi Biosciences Co. Ltd. has struck a deal with Merck KGaA for a clinical trial program in China to investigate the efficacy and safety of Junshi’s anti-PD-1 monoclonal antibody (MAb), Tuoyi (toripalimab) in combination with Merck’s Erbitux (cetuximab) as a treatment for recurrent and/or metastatic squamous cell carcinomas of the head and neck (SCCHN).
Chinese biotech firm Beigene Ltd. said its second-generation BTK inhibitor, Brukinsa (zanubrutinib), has won approval in China for two indications, entering a market dominated by Imbruvica (ibrutinib, Johnson & Johnson/Abbvie Inc.). The NDA approval came eight months after Brukinsa’s clearance in the U.S.
HONG KONG – Two Chinese biotech companies, Hutchison China Meditech Ltd. (Chi-Med) and Beigene Ltd., are teaming up to evaluate their therapies as combination treatments for several cancers and in different key markets.
BEIJING – Three-year-old Asia-focused startup Everest Medicines Ltd. closed one of the biggest financing rounds in China’s health care market this year, adding $310 million to its war chest. The firm is aiming to advance its late-stage assets in-licensed from global partners to the China market soon.
BEIJING – Suzhou, China-based Innovent Biologics Inc. is known in China as one of the first drugmakers to launch a PD-1 monoclonal antibody. Now, the company is moving to expand its product portfolio and enhance efforts in developing bispecific antibodies and cell therapies in a potential multibillion-dollar deal with pharma giant Roche Holding AG.
The juggernaut that is Daiichi Sankyo Co. Ltd.’s Enhertu continued to roll into this weekend’s American Society of Clinical Oncology virtual meeting, bringing momentum from its December FDA approval for HER2-positive breast cancer, along with fresh data from three new studies in other indications.
HONG KONG – South Korea’s Qurient Co. Ltd., located in Gyeonggi-do, is preparing to send its novel drug, Q-702, into the clinic after receiving clearance from the U.S. FDA.
Prescient Therapeutics Pty Ltd. is poised to develop next-generation CAR T therapies after signing a deal with the University of Pennsylvania for a universal immune receptor technology platform.