HONG KONG – Galmed Pharmaceuticals Ltd. has signed a research and development collaboration agreement with fellow Israeli biotech company Mybiotics Pharma Ltd. to identify and optimize the selected microbiome repertoire associated with the response to Aramchol (arachidyl amido cholanoic acid), Galmed’s fatty acid bile acid conjugate treating nonalcoholic steatohepatitis.
LONDON – A second COVID-19 vaccine has reported positive results in an interim phase III analysis, with Russia’s Sputnik V showing 92% efficacy. The news comes two days after the first readout from a phase III COVID-19 vaccine trial reported 90% efficacy for Pfizer Inc. and Biontech SE’s BNT-162b2.
HONG KONG – Kira Pharmaceuticals is riding high after completing a $46 million fundraiser and appointing Frederick Beddingfield as CEO. “The $46 million comprises a series A of $18 million and a series B of $26 million, with investors Quan Capital, 6 Dimensions Capital, Qiming Venture Partners, and Sinopharm Capital participating in both rounds,” Beddingfield told BioWorld.
3D Medicines Inc. has licensed in from Aravive Inc. a phase Ib-completed GAS6/AXL inhibitor known as AVB-500 in a deal worth up to $219 million. The Chinese firm will have the rights to develop and commercialize the drug candidate across all oncology indications in mainland China, Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan.
KARACHI, Pakistan – Pakistan is taking steps to produce coronary stents domestically as a way to improve the delivery of health care at home and, perhaps, tap into a growing global market.
N-ovative Health Technologies Pvt. Ltd., spun out of the National University of Science and Technology (NUST), started mass production of cardiac stents and angioplasty balloon catheters in October. It is the first such manufacturing facility in the country.
PERTH, Australia – The COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted the importance of digital health technology, and the Australian government quickly enabled programs in telehealth and e-prescriptions. It now is embracing opportunities to build on this momentum to accelerate the country’s economic digital transformation. Not only will this transformation contribute to Australia’s recovery, but also to its long-term prosperity, said Sue MacLeman, chair of Australia’s Medical Technologies and Pharmaceuticals Industry Growth Centre (MTPConnect), during a recent ANDHealth teleconference.
3D Medicines Inc. has licensed in from Aravive Inc. a phase Ib-completed GAS6/AXL inhibitor known as AVB-500 in a deal worth up to $219 million. The Chinese firm will have the rights to develop and commercialize the drug candidate across all oncology indications in mainland China, Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan.
HONG KONG – Kira Pharmaceuticals is riding high after completing a $46 million fundraiser and appointing Frederick Beddingfield as CEO. “The $46 million comprises a series A of $18 million and a series B of $26 million, with investors Quan Capital, 6 Dimensions Capital, Qiming Venture Partners, and Sinopharm Capital participating in both rounds,” Beddingfield told BioWorld.
HONG KONG – Los Angeles-based medical device accelerator Medtech Innovator and Asia Pacific Medical Technology Association (APACMed) have picked five finalists to compete for the title of the 2020 Asia Pacific Grand Prize winner, out of more than 170 applicants. Cartosense, Healthy Networks, Remidio, Sporogenics, and X-Zell were selected for the Medtech Innovator Asia Pacific competition, now in its second year.
HONG KONG – Humanigen Inc. has executed its first licensing agreement in the Asia-Pacific region, in a deal worth up to $20 million that gives Telcon RF Pharmaceutical Inc. and KPM Tech Co. Ltd. the development and commercialization rights to lenzilumab for COVID-19 in South Korea and the Philippines.