Minghui Pharmaceutical Ltd. announced it is raising $131 million in a pre-IPO financing round Aug. 7. The funds will be used to advance its cancer and inflammatory disease pipeline, which include a PD-1/VEGF bispecific antibody, antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs) and a topical Janus kinase inhibitor.

Precision medicine is becoming a reality in Asia Pacific as more targeted therapies are being developed that are tailored to individual patients, offering a potential cure for disease. But is Asia Pacific ready to harness this transformation, and if not, what are the hurdles that need to be cleared?

Innogen Pharmaceutical Group announced an $86 million IPO on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange that will see the company advance its lead product, Diabegone (efsubaglutide alfa), an ultra-long-acting glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonist into new global markets for type 2 diabetes as well as other metabolic diseases.

Syntara Ltd.’s stock plummeted 52% on news that the FDA recommended an additional phase IIb trial following a type C meeting about the company’s clinical development plan for lysyl oxidase inhibitor amsulostat (SNT-5505, formerly PXS-5505) in myelofibrosis.

Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) secured 5.3 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines made by Pfizer Inc./Biontech SE and Moderna Inc., officially including the mRNA-based vaccines in the country’s national immunization program on Aug. 5.

Lepu Biopharma Co. Ltd. has out-licensed two preclinical T-cell engagers to Shanghai-based newco Excalipoint in a deal worth $857.5 million plus equity interest. Under the deal terms, Excalipoint gains an exclusive global license to CTM-012 and CTM-013, developed by Lepu’s Topabody T-cell engager platform. In exchange, Lepu will receive $10 million up front and up to $847.5 million in development and commercial-based milestones, plus tiered royalties on sales.

Chinese vaccine company Ab&B Bio-tech announced an IPO listing on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange (HKEX:2627) under which it hopes to raise up to HK$518.36 million (US$66 million) to commercialize its influenza and human rabies vaccines in China and internationally.

Alterity Therapeutics Ltd. helped develop a new neuroimaging biomarker called the multiple system atrophy index (MSA-AI), which looks to be a more reliable biomarker for tracking disease progression of MSA.

Madrigal Pharmaceuticals Inc.’s long-awaited business development pact became reality by way of an exclusive global license agreement that could be worth more than $2 billion with CSPC Pharmaceutical Group Ltd., of Shijiazhuang, China, for SYH-2086. The candidate is a preclinical oral, small-molecule glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) receptor agonist and orforglipron derivative.