South Korean government and biopharmaceutical industry representatives urged American policymakers May 7 to refrain from imposing tariffs on pharmaceutical imports, and to spare allies if pharma tariffs are deemed necessary. Both Korea’s Ministry of Health and Welfare on May 4 and the Korea Biotechnology Industry Organization on May 6 submitted comments to the U.S. Department of Commerce in response to its ongoing investigation of pharmaceutical imports.
Minghui Pharmaceutical Ltd. is out-licensing its antibody-drug conjugate (ADC) MHB-088C to Qilu Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd. for China rights for up to ¥1.345 billion (US$186.44 million). Under terms of the deal, Qilu gains rights to develop and manufacture the ADC in greater China, including mainland China, Hong Kong, Macau, and Taiwan.
Ongoing policy issues in the U.S., including the Inflation Reduction Act and recent proposals under President Donald Trump’s administration, have wide ranging implications for the global biopharmaceutical industry, speakers at Bio Korea 2025 said May 8, including a heightened need for all biotechs to draft regulatory strategies.
Korean pharmaceutical stocks rose across the board May 13, a day after U.S. President Donald Trump signed off on the most favored nation executive order, a drug pricing policy expected to benefit biosimilar makers in the U.S., according to Celltrion Inc.
China’s National Medical Products Administration has approved Remegen Co. Ltd.’s antibody-drug conjugate (ADC), disitamab vedotin (RC-48), for treatment of HER2-positive advanced breast cancer in patients with liver metastasis.
TIGITs took another tumble with GSK plc’s decision to end a development program and a collaboration with Iteos Therapeutics Inc. New top-line results from a phase II study in non-small-cell lung cancer using belrestotug, an anti-TIGIT monoclonal antibody, were disappointing so the companies are calling it a day.
The KRAS G12D mutation is the most common oncogenic KRAS variant, identified in approximately 34% of pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma cases, 12% of colorectal cancers and 4% of lung adenocarcinomas.
Histone acetyltransferase p300 (EP300) inhibitors have been reported in a Kronos Bio Inc. patent and are described as potentially useful for the treatment of cancer and inflammatory disorders.