As biopharma deal values continue to rise above recent years, a growing percentage of the funds are coming through partnerships with companies headquartered in Asia and nearby countries. The $48.5 billion reported so far in 2020, for deals in which at least one party is based in either Asia, Australia or New Zealand, represents 37% of the global deal value.

DUBLIN – Spybiotech Ltd. has secured a first vaccine deal for its proprietary Spytag/Spycatcher protein conjugation technology. The Serum Institute of India Pvt. Co. Ltd. (SIIPL) is employing the technology in a COVID-19 virus-like-particle (VLP)-based vaccine, which recently entered a phase I/II trial in Australia. An initial data readout is expected in October or November.

PERTH, Australia – After its initial public offering on the Australian Securities Exchange, soft tissue regeneration company Aroa Biosurgery Ltd. has received new clearances in the U.S. and Europe and is focusing on building up its commercial and manufacturing capacity.

HONG KONG  Researchers from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s (MIT) research enterprise in Singapore, known as Singapore-MIT Alliance for Research and Technology (SMART), have found a way to not just reverse antibiotic resistance but also increase sensitivity in some bacteria, using hydrogen sulfide.

KARACHI, Pakistan – Geopolitics and a fraught relationship with its neighbors are hurting Pakistan’s pharmaceutical industry and the ability of people to access active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) and modern drugs.

HONG KONG – Osaka, Japan-based Ono Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd. has obtained positive top-line data in its phase III study of a combination of Opdivo (nivolumab, Bristol Myers Squibb Co.) and bevacizumab in lung cancer patients.