Shanghai Henlius Biotech Inc. has presented preclinical data on HLX-403, its novel anti-CDH17 antibody-drug conjugate (ADC), highlighting its potential for gastrointestinal cancers. A first-in-human trial is expected to commence in the third quarter of this year.

Researchers from the Sino-American Cancer Foundation and Taipei Medical University have developed a novel nanobody-based CAR T-cell platform directed against C-type lectin-like molecule-1 (CLL-1) for the possible treatment of acute myeloid leukemia (AML).

Liminatus Pharma Inc. has announced plans to conduct a phase I trial of IBA-101, a next-generation CD47-blockade antibody designed to work alongside PD-1/PD-L1 checkpoint inhibitors across a range of solid tumors.

Glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) is an aggressive and highly invasive intracranial tumor arising from the malignant transformation of brain and spinal cord cells. To date, surgery followed by adjuvant chemotherapy is the standard therapy for treating GBM, where temozolomide is the only first-line FDA-approved drug for GBM treatment. The aim of this study from Shenzhen University was to test the effect of a novel chloroethyl nitrosourea analog, HJ-03, in the treatment of GBM, which might overcome temozolomide resistance.

In the opening sessions of this year’s ESMO Targeted Anticancer Therapies Congress, Elena Garralda, director of the Molecular Therapeutics Research Unit at Vall d’Hebron Institute of Oncology in Barcelona, described ESMO TAT as “the house of phase I,” a fitting label for a meeting centered on translational research and early drug development, where first-in-human data and new trial designs help shape the next generation of cancer therapies.

Immutep Ltd.’s stock on Australia’s Securities Exchange plummeted nearly 90% on March 13 on the news that its phase III TACTI-004 trial evaluating eftilagimod alfa (IMP-321, efti) in first-line non-small-cell lung cancer was discontinued due to futility.

Multi-modality platform company Kanaph Therapeutics Inc. raised ₩40 billion (US$26.7 million) through its Kosdaq stock sale March 16, becoming the first Korean biotech to go public this year. The Seoul-based company’s shares (KOSDAQ:0082N0) climbed to ₩70,000 in intraday trading before closing at ₩50,600 – 153% higher than the offering price.

Two biotech and three med-tech companies are slated for Kosdaq debuts this month, signaling a potential rebound for Korea financings in 2026. Kanaph Therapeutics Inc. will open with a ₩40 billion (US$26.99 million) raise and Imbiologics Corp. will debut with ₩52 billion. Additionally, Mezoo Co. Ltd., Cosmo Robotics Co. Ltd. and Recensmedical Inc. will launch IPOs.

Enodia Therapeutics Inc. was spun out of The Institut Pasteur by Argobio Studio based on the work of Caroline Demangel, co-founder of Enodia and head of the immunobiology and therapy unit at The Institut Pasteur. Demangel’s lab discovered the mechanism of action of mycolactone, a natural Sec61 inhibitor that causes Buruli ulcers.