Kelun-Biotech Biopharmaceutical Co. Ltd. raised HK$1.36 billion (US$174 million) in an IPO in Hong Kong to support its push into the increasingly competitive antibody-drug conjugate (ADC) market in China.
South Korean pharmaceutical giant Yuhan Corp. gained Korea’s MFDS approval to expand indications for its potent oral third-generation tyrosine kinase inhibitor Leclaza (lazertinib) as a first-line treatment for EGFR T790M mutation-positive non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC).
Microba Life Sciences Ltd. has started dosing patients in a phase I trial of its gut microbiome-derived therapeutic, MAP-315, for ulcerative colitis, the major form of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD).
China’s Center for Drug Evaluation and South Korea’s Ministry of Food and Drug Safety cleared Transcenta Holdings to begin phase III pivotal trials of osemitamab (TST-001) in combination with nivolumab and chemotherapy for first-line treatment of HER2-negative, Claudin 18.2 expressing locally advanced or metastatic gastric or gastroesophageal cancer.
In a move to address both prevention and treatment of hepatitis B virus (HBV), Brii Biosciences Ltd. has acquired from VBI Vaccines Inc. a global exclusive license to HBV therapeutic vaccine BRII-179 (VBI-2601) and an exclusive license for HBV prophylactic vaccine Prehevbri in the Asia Pacific region, excluding Japan.
Aslan Pharmaceuticals Pte. Ltd. announced variegated results from its phase IIb TREK-AD trial testing eblasakimab, its biologic tested for moderate to severe atopic dermatitis (AD), that drew an equally mixed reaction from the market.
Shenzhen Salubris Pharmaceuticals Co. Ltd. received marketing approval from China’s NMPA for enarodustat as a treatment for anemic patients with chronic kidney disease that are not on dialysis.
The World Health Organization (WHO) recently gave an emergency use listing for SK Bioscience Ltd.’s COVID-19 vaccine called Skycovione, a self-assembled nanoparticle vaccine that targets the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein.
After raising AU$4 million (US$2.6 million), Argenica Therapeutics Pty. Ltd. is gearing up to begin phase II trials in ischemic stroke for ARG-007, a glutamate receptor modulator that is believed to reduce brain tissue death after stroke.
Itabmed Ltd. received an IND approval to start a phase I trial of its CD3-activating bispecific antibody A-337 for the treatment of patients with advanced solid tumors.