PERTH, Australia – Melbourne-based Cartherics Pty Ltd. plans on taking its pluripotent stem cell technology into the clinic next year. It is employing advanced gene editing techniques for the next generation of CAR T therapy.

BEIJING – Hightide Therapeutics Inc., of Shenzhen, China, and Rockville, Md., said it finished the enrollment in phase IIa trials for its lead asset, HTD-1801, which is a potential first-in-class new molecular entity for primary sclerosing cholangitis (PSC) and nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH).

HONG KONG – South Korean pharmaceutical company Chong Kun Dang Holdings recently invested KRW5 billion (US$4.1 million) in Biorchestra Co. Ltd., a Korean startup based in Daejeon that aims to develop Alzheimer’s dementia treatment based on microRNA.

PERTH, Australia – Stem cell therapy has failed to deliver on its promises, according to Exopharm Ltd. founder and CEO Ian Dixon, who said he believes that exosomes, or the extracellular vesicles released by stem cells, could be a disrupter in the regenerative medicine space.

BEIJING – Despite tensions between the U.S. and China, especially in the tech sector, Oncologie Inc. maintains its plans to pursue drug development in both markets. The clinical-stage startup, led by U.S. scientists and funded with Chinese capital, has stationed itself in both Boston and Shanghai to focus on developing innovative cancer therapies simultaneously in China and the U.S.

BEIJING – Chinese startup Biotheus Inc., of Zhuhai, Guangdong, has its sights fixed on bispecific and multitarget antibodies to maximize drug efficacy. A biotech innovator based in the south of China, it is gained support from local authorities that aim to create another biotech hub in the country.

HONG KONG – Singaporean biotech company Aum Biosciences Pte. Ltd. has in-licensed a potentially first-in-class PIM/PI3K/mTOR inhibitor from Inflection Biosciences Ltd., of Dublin and London, to develop it globally to treat a wide range of cancers.