PERTH, Australia – Mesoblast Ltd. has filed the final module of its rolling BLA submission for its allogeneic mesenchymal precursor cell therapy, remestemcel-L, after it showed strong survival rates in children with acute steroid-refractory graft-vs.-host disease (aGVHD).

Shanghai-based I-Mab Biopharma Co. Ltd. became the first IPO out of the gate this year, pricing its IPO of about 7.4 million American depositary shares (ADSs) – each 10 representing 23 ordinary shares of the company, par value $0.0001 per share – at $14 each, within the planned range of $12 at the low end and $15 at the high. But the stock’s performance might not have been all investors hoped, as shares (NASDAQ:IMAB) closed at $12.50 Jan. 17.

HONG KONG – South Korean biopharma Genesen Inc. has secured ₩2.2 billion (US$1.9 million) in seed funding to advance its peptide-based drug candidates for the treatment of autoimmune and inflammatory diseases, including systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), rheumatoid arthritis and psoriasis.

Turnstone Biologics Inc. has found a major backer for its preclinical vaccinia-based oncolytic virus platform for cancer immunotherapy. Takeda Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd. is paying $120 million in up-front, near-term milestones and equity investment and could pay $900 million more in development, regulatory and commercial milestones to enter a strategic alliance with the New-York-based firm.

HONG KONG – Celltrion Healthcare Co. Ltd., a South Korean biopharmaceutical corporation, won European Union (EU) marketing approval for Remsima SC for the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis (RA), as a subcutaneous version of Celltrion’s infliximab biosimilar, CT-P13.