Antibody-drug conjugate developer Duality Biotherapeutics Inc. debuted on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange (HKEX) with a HK$1.64 billion (US$211.4 million) IPO April 15, making it one of the biggest offerings made under the HKEX’s Chapter 18A listing regime since 2020.
The U.S. National Security Commission on Emerging Biotechnology (NSCEB) is urging Congress to reinvest in American biotechnology because “the U.S. is dangerously close to falling behind China,” according to a May 8 report. "The United States is locked in a competition with China that will define the coming century," said NSCEB Chair Senator Todd Young (R-Ind.). “Biotechnology is the next phase in that competition. It is no longer constrained to the realm of scientific achievement. It is now an imperative for national security, economic power and global influence.”
Remegen Co. Ltd. emerged as a surprise challenger in the generalized myasthenia gravis space, unveiling positive phase III data of its China-approved lupus drug, telitacicept (RCT-18; Tai’ai), in the rare autoimmune neuromuscular disorder at the 2025 American Academy of Neurology conference.
Phase I/II trial results of sacituzumab tirumotecan (sac-TMT; Sichuan Kelun-Biotech Biopharmaceutical Co. Ltd.) published in Nature Medicine came a month after China’s National Medical Products Administration gave clearance to Kelun-Biotech’s supplemental NDA of sac-TMT to treat advanced non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC).
Hightide Therapeutics Inc.’s berberine ursodeoxycholate (HTD-1801) met primary and secondary endpoints in the Symphony 1 and Symphony 2 phase III trials in type 2 diabetes in Chinese patients. Based on the data, Shenzhen-based Hightide will submit an NDA to China’s National Medical Products Administration (NMPA) later this year.
China approved 48 first-in-class innovative drugs, as well as a significant number of medications for pediatric and rare diseases, thanks to measures aimed at enhancing review efficiency and accelerating patient access to novel therapies, according to a report released by China’s National Medical Products Administration.
Beigene Ltd. said it is shutting down development of its anti-TIGIT antibody, ociperlimab (BGB-A1217), after the humanized IgG1-variant monoclonal antibody failed a phase III trial in lung cancer. The move is one of many in a string of anti-TIGIT immunotherapy failures.
Following news of U.S. President Donald Trump’s 10% across-the-board tariffs on Australian exports to the U.S., Australia’s Securities Exchange shed nearly AU$55 billion in losses Thursday morning. Even so, pharmaceuticals have escaped the tariffs for now. In China, Trump’s tariffs are not a big concern for China’s health care because drugs and active pharmaceutical ingredients are exempted from the tariffs. Even if tariffs are imposed in the future, Chinese pharmaceutical companies have already significantly de-risked themselves in recent months by increasing out-licensing models with U.S. partners.
Sumitomo Pharma Co. Ltd. announced that it will sell off two more of its subsidiaries, Sumitomo Pharma (China) Co. Ltd. and Sumitomo Pharma Asia Pacific Pte. Ltd. (and their subsidiaries), to Marubeni Global Pharma Corp. April 1, as the Japanese pharma continues restructuring efforts from last year.
Merck KGaA is exercising its option for a global license to commercialize Abbisko Therapeutics Co. Ltd.’s pimicotinib for $85 million. As previously reported by BioWorld, Abbisko out-licensed China rights to its colony-stimulating factor 1 receptor inhibitor, pimicotinib, to Merck in a deal worth up to $605.5 million in December 2023.
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