Australian biopharma Immutep Ltd. saw its stock price jump 165% Dec. 10, as the company reported that adding its eftilagimod alpha (IMP-321, “efti”) to paclitaxel resulted in what the company called a “promising and improving” trend toward increased overall survival in women with metastatic hormone receptor-driven breast cancer.
Chinese biopharma Impact Therapeutics Inc. of Nanjing raised $50 million in a series C+ round on Nov. 30, two years after its $30 million series C round. Impact’s CEO Jun Bao told BioWorld that the majority of the proceeds would be used to take several programs forward. The financing round also paved the way toward an IPO.
HONG KONG – Takeda Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd. received approval from Japan’s Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare (MHLW) for an additional indication for its tyrosine kinase inhibitor, Cabometyx (cabozantinib), clearing the firm to manufacture and market 20-mg and 60-mg tablets for patients with unresectable hepatocellular carcinoma that has progressed after prior systemic therapy.
Preclinical startup Tavotek Biotherapeutics Ltd., with operations in Pennsylvania and Suzhou, China, boasts two technology platforms for discovering and developing molecular-targeted biologics for cancers and autoimmune diseases and is working to push its candidates, including a bispecific antibody, to the clinic next year.
HONG KONG – D3 Bio Inc. is the new kid on the biopharma block in Shanghai, kicking off with a $200 million series A financing backed by some of Asia’s most prominent venture capital firms.
HONG KONG – Hutchison China Meditech Ltd. (also known as Chi-Med) has received a $100 million equity investment from the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board, which will fund ongoing research, clinical development and commercialization capabilities.
PERTH, Australia – Sydney-based Imugene Ltd.’s stock shot up 15% on news that an interim analysis of phase II data in its B-cell peptide vaccine, HER-Vaxx, in advanced gastric cancer showed positive survival data, and the data monitoring committee said it could lower the number of patients required for study completion.
HONG KONG – Kira Pharmaceuticals is riding high after completing a $46 million fundraiser and appointing Frederick Beddingfield as CEO. “The $46 million comprises a series A of $18 million and a series B of $26 million, with investors Quan Capital, 6 Dimensions Capital, Qiming Venture Partners, and Sinopharm Capital participating in both rounds,” Beddingfield told BioWorld.
3D Medicines Inc. has licensed in from Aravive Inc. a phase Ib-completed GAS6/AXL inhibitor known as AVB-500 in a deal worth up to $219 million. The Chinese firm will have the rights to develop and commercialize the drug candidate across all oncology indications in mainland China, Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan.
Fochon Pharmaceuticals Ltd., a subsidiary of Shanghai Fosun Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd., out-licensed FCN-338, a BCL-2 inhibitor, to Eli Lilly and Co. for an up-front payment of $40 million along with milestones and royalties. The deal marks another example of Chinese biotech companies reversing the licensing flow.
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