The Guangzhou Sino-Israel Bio-industry Investment Fund (GIBF) has raised more than half of its proposed ¥2 billion (US$313 million) round. “The second fund, GIBF2, will focus on Israeli and European biotechnology companies, which are developing innovative drugs and are in phase II to III clinical trials,” Avner Lushi, the CEO and co-founder of the GIBF, told BioWorld. The Chinese RMB fund is managed by The Guangzhou Elim Biotech Industry Venture Capital Management Company, which is controlled by a group of prominent Israeli professionals.
BEIJING, China and SANTANDER, Spain – Antengene Corp. and Calithera Biosciences Inc. entered a worldwide exclusive license agreement to develop and market the CD73 inhibitor CB-708 (ATG-037), as part of a push to use the small-molecule inhibitor to grab significant market share in Asia Pacific and global markets.
Amid the trend of investors partnering with Western biotech companies to set up China-focused joint ventures, San Diego-based Kinnate Biopharma Inc. has joined Orbimed Asia Partners, Orbimed Private Investments and Foresite Capital to establish a JV in Shanghai to move its preclinical kinase inhibitor candidates forward in greater China.
Seychelles has seen rising numbers of COVID-19 cases despite 61% of its population being fully vaccinated as of May 8, calling into question the effectiveness of the COVID-19 vaccines used by the island nation.
HONG KONG – Olix Pharmaceuticals Inc. has entered an extensive research collaboration to test its RNAi therapeutic, OLX-104C, with Fimanac, PCI Biotech Holding ASA’s delivery technology for nucleic acid-based therapies, with the aim of reducing off-target effects while treating androgenic alopecia, or hair loss.
HONG KONG – South Korea’s securities exchange operator, Korea Exchange Inc., has relaxed the procedure for tech companies, including biopharma firms, to list on its KOSDAQ board. Under the simplified listing standard, which came into effect on April 26, companies with a market capitalization of ₩500 billion (US$449.26 million) and above will now need to submit only one assessment, with a result of “A” or higher, from a professional evaluation agency.
HONG KONG – Qilu Pharmaceutical Ltd. has inked a deal for the global rights to Peptron Inc.’s antibody-drug conjugate (ADC) candidate PAb-001-ADC for the treatment of various cancers. Seoul, South Korea-based Peptron stands to receive an up-front payment of $3 million and $539 million in milestone payments, as well as royalties.
HONG KONG – Pharmcadd Co. Ltd., a developer of an artificial intelligence (AI) and physics-based drug discovery platform, bagged ₩17.3 billion (US$15.5 million) in its series B funding. This brings the total funds raised since its establishment to $22 million.
Cross-border startup Scineuro Pharmaceuticals Ltd., which focuses on central nervous system (CNS) diseases, inked a deal with Eli Lilly and Co. to license in the greater China rights of alpha-synuclein-targeted antibody therapies to follow the global drug development trend in this space.
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