An international consortium of thousands of scientists is creating the Human Cell Atlas, a three-dimensional map of all the cells in the body. The goal is to understand all the cells that make up human tissues, organs and systems, which will enable multiple medical applications. This collection of cell maps is openly available for navigation at single-cell resolution, identified through omics analyses that reveal the tridimensional distribution of each cell.
Vitalli Bio Inc. terminated a potential $477 million licensing deal for autoimmune disease drug, DWP-213388, signed a year ago with Daewoong Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd., although Vitalli still retains option rights to two more dual inhibitor candidates that could fetch up to $941 million.
Celltrion Inc. said it would acquire Iqone Healthcare Switzerland SA in the fourth quarter of 2024 for about ₩30 billion (US$21.34 million) to expand its European business. “This move represents a strategic shift in our growth strategy,” Taehun Ha, Celltrion vice president and Europe head, said in a statement Nov. 15.
Visterra Inc., a subsidiary of Otsuka Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd., reported positive top-line data from the ongoing Visionary phase III study of sibeprenlimab, an anti-APRIL monoclonal antibody for immunoglobulin A nephropathy (IgAN).
Backed by AI technology, Aigen Sciences Inc. raised ₩12 billion (US$8.8 million) in a series A financing round to further advance its cancer and rare disease drug pipelines.
The Japanese government, industry and academia are deliberating health care policies and initiatives to boost Japan’s role in the future of regenerative medicine, experts at Bio Japan 2024 said, as the fruits of cell and gene therapy research come to fruition with new approvals.
U.S. biotechs and regulators ushered in the era of gene therapy in 2023, experts at Bio Japan said, but medical reform is needed to pave the way for the “year of cell therapy” in 2024 and implement wider access to ultra-expensive cell and gene therapies.
Innocare Pharma Ltd.’s tyrosine kinase 2 (TYK2) inhibitor, ICP-488, met the primary endpoint in a phase II trial in Chinese patients with moderate to severe plaque psoriasis, and the results clear the way to accelerate clinical development in psoriasis and other autoimmune diseases.
South San Francisco-based Kezar Life Sciences Inc. voluntarily stopped its phase IIb Palizade trial of zetomipzomib in active lupus nephritis, following four fatal, or grade 5, serious adverse events of patients enrolled in the Philippines and Argentina.
One of Australia’s newest biotech investment funds is set to triple investments on the back of its success and strong investor demand. The three-year old Merchant Biotech Fund (MBF) invested in several high growth ASX-listed and private life sciences companies and finished the past financial year up more than 70%. It is up 10% for the current financial year, Portfolio Manager Reece O'Connell told BioWorld.
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