Akili Interactive Labs Inc. has kicked off a phase III study of its digital treatment for children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) living in Japan, the first pivotal trial of its video game-based cognitive treatment outside the U.S. Conducted by Osaka-based Shionogi & Co. Ltd., this marks the first pivotal trial of Akili’s video game-based cognitive treatment outside the U.S.

Big pharma is increasingly turning to Taiwan to leverage the power of the country’s data and computing power as precision medicine takes center stage in drug development, speakers said during the recent BIO Asia-Taiwan conference in Taipei.

Keeping innovation growing at a fast clip while retaining new global supply chain capacity built up during the pandemic were the main topics of discussion at the Bio Asia-Taiwan conference July 27 in Taipei. With the theme of the conference, “Connecting the Asia Value Chain,” Taiwan Vice President Ching-Te Lai said the pandemic has demonstrated Taiwan’s resilience as well as the strength of the global biopharma industry.

Igene Laboratory Pte Ltd. has launched a research-use-only polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test for monkeypox to help with the recent outbreaks.

Med-tech manufacturers can expect the market for diabetes care-related products, ranging from insulin pens to smart devices, to rise in India. India already has the second-largest number of adults with diabetes globally, after China.

Robocath SAS said Cathbot, its joint venture set up in 2020, has enrolled the final patient for its clinical study in China to evaluate the safety and the efficacy of its robotic platform for percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI). “The completion of our PCI robotic multicenter trial in China is a crucial milestone in our development in this part of the world,” Philippe Bencteux, president and founder of Robocath, told BioWorld.

Growing collaborations between pharma and technology companies in digital health are beginning to create a new ecosystem in Taiwan that it hopes will increase its value in the global supply chain, speakers said during the BIO Asia-Taiwan conference in Taipei, running July 27-31.

An expert panel of Japan’s Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare (MHLW) pushed back on recommending conditional approval for a second time for Shionogi & Co. Ltd.’s orally administered COVID-19 antiviral 3CL protease inhibitor, S-217622, also known as ensitrelvir.