Kyorin Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd. is licensing Hinge Bio Inc.’s multispecific antibody-based therapy HB-2198 in Japan for multiple autoimmune indications, starting with systemic lupus erythematosus.

Novo Nordisk A/S terminated its global licensing deal with Japan’s Heartseed Inc. for its allogeneic induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC)-derived cardiomyocytes.

Hanmi Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd. and Health Hope Pharma Ltd. may be getting a second wind for encequidar and the Orascovery platform, with Gilead Sciences Inc. picking up exclusive global rights to develop and commercialize encequidar in the field of virology for $2.5 million up front.

The threat of tariffs on imports of branded drugs is about to be realized after U.S. President Donald Trump announced a 100% import duty will apply beginning Oct. 1. However, the flurry of recent announcements by pharma companies of investments in U.S. manufacturing plants may have paid off, with the president saying in his announcement on Truth Social that the 100% rate will be enforced “unless a company is building their manufacturing plant in America.”

Rakuten Medical Inc. is advancing a pipeline of solid tumor therapeutics built on its Alluminox platform worldwide, having gained conditional early approval of ASP-1929, an Alluminox-derived photoimmunotherapy, in Japan in 2020.

Jiangsu Hengrui Pharmaceuticals Co. Ltd. struck another $1 billion-plus deal, this time for a HER2-targeting antibody-drug conjugate (ADC), trastuzumab rezetecan (SHR-A1811), with Glenmark Pharmaceuticals Ltd.’s subsidiary Glenmark Specialty SA.

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), formerly known as Lou Gehrig’s disease, is a progressive and fatal neurodegenerative disorder with no known cure. While three therapies have gained U.S. FDA approvals to date, including Rilutek (riluzole), Radicava/Radicava ORS (edaravone) and tofersen (BIIB-067, the lack of a disease-modifying drug has spurred the continual search for novel therapies.

Celltrion Inc. announced plans to acquire from Eli Lilly and Co. a Branchburg, N.J.-based biologics cGMP facility for $330 million up front, with plans to invest up to a total of ₩1.4 trillion (US$1 billion) in plant acquisition and expansion.

While U.S. policymakers are scaling back funding on mRNA vaccine research, Australia is accelerating investment in the technology. At the center of this effort is Moderna Inc., which is establishing an mRNA research and manufacturing footprint in the country and banking on decades of local expertise to bring new therapies to the clinic and serve as a regional hub for Asia Pacific.

The first new U.S. FDA-approved therapeutic option for PTSD in more than 20 years will have to wait. A supplemental NDA seeking approval of Rexulti (brexpiprazole) combined with sertraline, filed by one of Japan’s biggest pharmas, Otsuka Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd., received a complete response letter (CRL) from the agency.