The scale of the $8.5 billion deal signed between Innovent Biologics Inc. and Eli Lilly and Co. is eye-catching, but the structure is the real signal. By shifting phase II oncology development to China while reserving global rights ex-greater China, the partners are testing a model that could reshape how multinational drugmakers source innovation as well as how Chinese biotechs create value.

Galux closed a ₩42 billion (US$29 million) series B round Feb. 10, led by Yuanta Investment to bring AI-driven “rational design” to the protein drug development process, already heavily influenced by human engineering. 

China’s State Council updated its Drug Administration Law, and the changes mark a substantive evolution in the country’s drug regulatory framework.

Insight Lifetech Co. Ltd. listed on the Shanghai Stock Exchange’s STAR market via an unprofitable biotech track reinstated last year, with the Feb. 5 IPO raising ¥998.64 million (US$143.93 million).

After raising $61 million in a series B round, Vibrant Therapeutics Inc. is gearing up to begin a U.S. phase I trial with its lead program, VIB-305, a masked T-cell engager (TCE) for treating EGFR-positive solid tumors.

Elevar Therapeutics Inc. appointed Kim Dong-gun (DG) as CEO Jan. 29, as the company focuses on post-NDA strategies for lirafugratinib in bile duct cancer, and the twice-rejected rivoceranib-camrelizumab combination for liver cancer.

For years, Japan’s “drug lag” was shorthand for slow regulatory reviews and delayed approvals compared with the U.S. and Europe. But even as regulatory timelines have shortened, review capacity has expanded and international alignment has improved, Japanese patients still face gaps in access to innovative drugs.