In an all-cash transaction valued at €780 million (US$920 million), Asahi Kasei Corp. offered to buy Aicuris Anti-infective Cures AG, expanding its infectious disease portfolio with a marketed cytomegalovirus product and a herpes treatment nearing an NDA.
GSK plc will pay Frontier Biotechnologies Inc. $40 million up front and up to $963 million in milestone payments to license two of Frontier’s small interfering RNA-based assets in the field of immunology.
China’s National Medical Products Administration has approved Sino Biopharmaceutical Ltd.’s rovadicitinib, branded as Anxu, for first-line treatment of adults with intermediate- or high-risk primary myelofibrosis, as well as post polycythemia vera myelofibrosis or post-essential thrombocythemia myelofibrosis.
In a boon for licensee Bristol Myers Squibb Co., Systimmune Inc.’s next-generation cancer drug, izalontamab brengitecan (iza-bren), hit both progression-free survival and overall survival endpoints in a phase III trial of Chinese patients with advanced triple-negative breast cancer.
U.S. scrutiny of China’s trade practices, especially in the biotech sector, continues to escalate as the U.S. International Trade Commission launches two factfinding investigations Congress mandated in the fiscal 2026 appropriations.
China’s National Medical Products Administration has accepted for review Jiuyuan Genetic Biopharmaceutical Co. Ltd.’s drug application for Jikeqin, a biosimilar product to Novo Nordisk A/S’s Wegovy (semaglutide) for obesity.
In an all-cash transaction valued at €780 million (US$920 million), Asahi Kasei Corp. offered to buy Aicuris Anti-infective Cures AG, expanding its infectious disease portfolio with a marketed cytomegalovirus product and a herpes treatment nearing an NDA.
GSK plc will pay Frontier Biotechnologies Inc. $40 million up front and up to $963 million in milestone payments to license two of Frontier’s small interfering RNA-based assets in the field of immunology.
Innovacell Inc. launched a ¥14.16 billion (US$91.2 million) stock sale on the Tokyo Stock Exchange Feb. 24, ending a near two-year lull of biotech listings in Japan while signaling a dynamic year ahead for cell-based therapeutics.
Astellas Pharma Inc. and Vir Biotechnology Inc. have signed a global co-development pact to advance VIR-5500, Vir’s PRO-XTEN dual-masked CD3 T-cell engager targeting prostate-specific membrane antigen for treating prostate cancer. Under the deal terms, San Francisco-based Vir will receive $335 million in up-front and near-term payments, including $240 million in cash, $75 million in equity investment and a $20 million near-term milestone. Vir is also eligible to receive up to $1.37 billion in development, regulatory and sales-based milestones plus royalties on ex-U.S. sales.