The U.S. FDA approved the country’s first two interchangeable biosimilars, or copy products, of Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc./Bayer AG’s Eylea (aflibercept) on May 20, to treat four eye-related conditions. The FDA granted the approvals to U.S.- and India-based Johnson & Johnson Services Inc./Biocon Biologics Ltd.’s Yesafili (aflibercept-jbvf; M-710) and South Korea’s Samsung Bioepis Co. Ltd.’s Opuviz (aflibercept-yszy; SB-15).

Shaking up corporate and pipeline structure, San Diego-based cancer developer Erasca Inc. in-licensed two assets from China-based biopharmas in all-cash deals, while laying off 18% of its workforce, primarily in drug discovery. The flurry of announcements made on May 16, which included $160 million raised in private placement, showed that Erasca would scrap three existing pipeline assets – ERAS-007, ERAS-801 and ERAS-4 – and reshape development to a RAS-targeting franchise.

Zai Lab Ltd., of Shanghai and Cambridge, Mass., has been on a regulatory roll in China, gaining approval of Bristol Myers Squibb Co.’s Augtyro (repotrectinib) for lung cancer on May 12 and NMPA acceptance of subcutaneous Vyvgart‘s (efgartigimod alfa SC) supplemental BLA with priority review on May 14.

Shaking up corporate and pipeline structure, San Diego-based cancer developer Erasca Inc. in-licensed two assets from China-based biopharmas in all-cash deals, while laying off 18% of its workforce, primarily in drug discovery. The flurry of announcements made on May 16, which included $160 million raised in private placement, showed that Erasca would scrap three existing pipeline assets – ERAS-007, ERAS-801 and ERAS-4 – and reshape development to a RAS-targeting franchise.

Homerun success of Novo Nordisk A/S’ semaglutide, which recently became the U.S.’s biggest blockbuster drug, is serving as an “inflection point” for obesity therapeutics and fueling the drive for new and improved therapies, speakers said at Bio Korea 2024 on May 8.

Osaka, Japan-based Shionogi & Co. Ltd. said May 13 that ensitrelvir fumaric acid (Xocova), its oral antiviral for COVID-19, showed no statistical difference against placebo in completely resolving 15 common COVID-19-related symptoms in a global phase III Scorpio-HR trial.

Innovent Biologics Inc.’s glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor (GLP-1R) and glucagon receptor dual agonist, mazdutide, met the primary endpoint of superiority in a head-to-head phase III trial in Chinese patients with type 2 diabetes compared to Eli Lilly and Co.’s GLP-1, dulaglutide, for glycemic control.