CSPC Pharmaceutical Group Ltd.’s anti-βKlotho monoclonal antibody drug JMT-202 has received clearance from China’s National Medical Products Administration (NMPA) to enter clinical trials to lower triglyceride levels in patients with hypertriglyceridemia.
As the average cost of new drug R&D continues to skyrocket, the perception around using artificial intelligence (AI) as a tool to boost drug discovery is changing. “Developing new AI-based drugs is a difficult task, not only for Korea but also for countries with leading AI technology,” Hyeyun Jung, principal researcher of Korea Health Industry Development Institute’s Center for Health Industry Policy, told the audience at the Bio Korea meeting on May 9. “But there is a change in perception; [namely that] applying AI to new drug development is not an option but a necessity.”
South Korea’s HK Inno.N Corp. said on May 2 that it gained exclusive development and commercial rights to Hangzhou, China-based Sciwind Biosciences Co. Ltd.’s once-weekly, injectable glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) agonist, XW-003 (ecnoglutide), in South Korea to treat type 2 diabetes and obesity.
Japanese researchers have transplanted human induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) in a primate model of myocardial infarction and were able to restore heart muscle and function in monkeys. Developed by Tokyo-based Heartseed Inc., the grafted iPSCs consist of clusters of purified heart muscle cells (cardiomyocyte spheroids) that are injected into the myocardial layer of the heart. Published in Circulation on April 26, 2024, the study showed that the cardiomyocyte spheroids survived long term and showed improved contractile function with low occurrence of post-transplant arrhythmias.
China’s Pegbio Co. Ltd. is planning a Hong Kong IPO to advance PB-119, its main glucagon-like peptide 1 receptor agonist for diabetes nearing domestic approval, as it hopes to transition to an operating profit.
CSL Ltd. will review the data further to see if there is a path forward for CSL-112 (human apolipoprotein A-I) after the phase III AEGIS-II trial failed to meet the primary efficacy endpoint in reducing the risk of major adverse cardiovascular events in patients following an acute heart attack.
Armed with strong phase III safety data in Japanese patients, Palo Alto, Calif.-based Bridgebio Pharma Inc. is planning to file for Japan approval of its investigational drug acoramidis for a rare heart disorder.
Windtree Therapeutics Inc. is out-licensing China rights for phase III-ready heart failure candidate istaroxime to Lee’s Pharmaceutical Ltd. for $138 million, plus royalties. Lee’s, of Hong Kong, plans to begin a phase III study for istaroxime in acute heart failure in greater China, while Windtree, of Warrington, Pa., will conduct a global trial in cardiogenic shock, a form of sudden heart failure. Windtree reported positive phase II data in April 2022 that tested istaroxime in cardiogenic shock, which happens when the heart cannot pump enough blood and oxygen to vital organs.
The U.S. FDA has granted Mesoblast Ltd.’s allogeneic cell therapy Revascor (rexlemestrocel-L) rare pediatric disease designation following submission of results from a clinical trial in children with hypoplastic left heart syndrome, a potentially life-threatening congenital heart condition.
Shanghai-based Ji Xing Pharmaceuticals has signed a number of licensing deals over the last week for China rights to cardiovascular drugs to advance its pipeline and its global ambitions, partnering most recently with Tokyo-based TMS Co. Ltd. after the Chinese company acquired global rights for TMS-007 (also known as BIIB-131) from Biogen Inc.
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