HONG KONG – Chugai Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd. is hoping to start phase I trials for an as-yet-unnamed digital solution for measuring pain levels in endometriosis patients that it is co-developing with Biofourmis Inc.
HONG KONG – Tokyo-based Daiichi Sankyo Co. Ltd. has hit its goals in a phase III study testing the use of prasugrel hydrochloride in thrombotic stroke patients.
With no new cases reported for more than 100 days, Taiwan appears to have successfully contained the spread of COVID-19 and has drawn attention to its medical achievements. Experts said at BIO Asia-Taiwan conference this week that with continuous government and investor support, the East Asian nation could move further up to join other leading biotech players.
HONG KONG – Daejeon, South Korea-based biotechnology company G2GBIO Inc. has raised ₩11.4 billion (US$9.53 million) from a series B financing round, with the funds to be used on clinical trials for a sustained-release Alzheimer’s treatment as well as nonclinical trials for diabetes and sustained-release postoperative pain treatments.
HONG KONG – Seoul-based Vuno Inc. faces the happy dilemma of being able to choose from multiple partnership offers to add to the string of recent deals inked by the South Korean company. The company’s most recent deal is an agreement with Dong Wha Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd. for a ₩3 billion ($2.5 million) investment. For Dong Wha, the deal is a culmination of a three-year effort to diversify its business via active investments in the latest health care trends.
In the shadow of COVID-19, experts at the BIO Asia-Taiwan conference on Wednesday warned of present and future challenges for the biotech industry. Changes in manufacturing logistics and financial distress will continue to cause concern for the industry.
PERTH, Australia – The U.S. FDA gave the thumbs up to Australia’s Micro-X Ltd. for its Rover mobile X-ray system. The 510(k) application was cleared in just five weeks. The concept for the Rover was originally developed under a contract with the Australian Department of Defense to prove that Micro-X’s technology could fulfill an unmet need for a full performance, digital medical X-ray imager that was light enough to be used in deployed medical facilities.
Diagnostic firm AnchorDx Medical Co. Ltd. is now working with the Lung Cancer Initiative at Johnson & Johnson in a four-year lung cancer study that aims to enable early detection and diagnosis of the disease in China. The study takes place at six hospitals in the country and is expected to be completed in December 2024.
Emerging companies continue to have a bigger role in pushing biotech innovation, and their presence is more important than ever, given the race for a COVID-19 solution. Those companies’ role in global R&D and new drug approvals was stressed by experts at the current BIO Asia-Taiwan conference.
HONG KONG – Osaka, Japan-based Shionogi & Co Ltd. continues to make global inroads with its influenza treatment, Xofluza (baloxavir marboxil), submitting supplemental new drug applications in Japan and Taiwan for a post-exposure prophylaxis indication on the back of positive results from its phase III trials.