SUZHOU, China – Genome editing startup Edigene Inc. and CAR T developer Immunochina Pharmaceuticals Co. Ltd., both from Beijing, have unveiled joint efforts to develop an allogeneic CAR T therapy for cancer. Terms remain undisclosed.
HONG KONG – New York and San Diego-based Zentalis Pharmaceuticals Inc. has gained $20 million in a series A financing round to support a Chinese joint venture called Zentera Therapeutics.
BEIJING – CAR T-cell therapeutics developer Carsgen Therapeutics Co. Ltd., of Shanghai, won IND clearance from the FDA for its first-in-class CT-041 for advanced gastric and pancreatic cancers. The company said it is the first claudin18.2 (CLDN18.2)-targeted CAR T-cell therapy cleared for clinical trials in the world.
BEIJING – Androgen receptor (AR)-related disease specialist Kintor Pharmaceutical Ltd., of Suzhou, China, raised $240 million on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange (HKEX) on May 22 by issuing 92.3 million shares at HK$20.15 apiece. The IPO was oversubscribed by 551 times, showing the city’s biotech fever.
Variants in the APOE gene are the strongest genetic risk factor for developing Alzheimer’s disease (AD). Now, researchers at Rockefeller University have demonstrated that APOE variants also affected the risk of progression and metastasis as well as the response to immunotherapy, in melanoma.
HONG KONG – South Korean conglomerate SK Group is preparing to list its subsidiary, SK Biopharmaceuticals Co. Ltd., on the Stock Market Division of the Korea Exchange.
HONG KONG –Shanghai-based Zai Lab Ltd. has won an approval for the first innovative treatment for glioblastoma approved by China in more than 15 years, with the National Medical Products Administration’s nod for Optune in combination with temozolomide for use in patients with newly diagnosed glioblastoma.
HONG KONG – After inking a recent deal with China’s Jiangsu Hengrui Medicine Co. Ltd., South Korea’s Crystalgenomics Inc. is celebrating its 20th anniversary by seeking more partners to further develop its anti-PD-1 inhibitor pipeline.
HONG KONG – South Korea’s Bridge Biotherapeutics Inc. wrapped up the week by announcing its awaited IND clearance for its epidermal growth factor receptor tyrosine kinase inhibitor, BBT-176, for non-small-cell lung cancer.