Alebund Pharmaceuticals Ltd. raised ¥200 million (US$29 million) in a pre-C financing round to support the clinical trials of its candidates for kidney disease. It also secured $800 million through a syndicated bank loan to build a manufacturing facility for small-molecule drugs in the Chinese city of Yangzhou, Jiangsu province, as it lays the groundwork for future commercialization.
Biontech SE has tapped into two of Duality Biologics Co. Ltd.’s antibody-drug conjugate candidates (ADCs), paying Duality $170 million up front and agreeing on development, regulatory and commercial milestone fees of $1.5 billion or more.
Junshi Biosciences Co. Ltd. and Rxilient Biotech Pte Ltd. are forming a joint venture (JV) to develop and commercialize Junshi’s PD-1 inhibitor, toripalimab, in nine Southeast Asian nations.
China’s NMPA granted conditional approval for a COVID-19 oral pill to treat adult patients with mild to moderate cases of the virus to a unit of Guangdong Zhongsheng Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd.
Biohaven Ltd. has acquired global rights, excluding China, from Highlightll Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd. to develop and commercialize a dual inhibitor of tyrosine kinase 2 (TYK2) and JAK1, BHV-8000 (TLL-041), for the treatment of brain disorders in a deal worth up to $970 million.
CSPC Pharmaceutical Group Ltd.’s COVID-19 mRNA vaccine, SYS-6006, has been included for emergency use by the NMPA, the company said on March 22, marking the first domestically developed COVID-19 mRNA vaccine approved for use in China.
The increased availability of capital, greater access to talent, strong local governmental support and more focused attention on IP issues have increased the complexity of deals taking place between biotech and big pharma companies in China, according to Michelle Chan, chief business officer of Insilico Medicine Inc.
Likang Life Sciences Holdings Ltd. received approval from China’s NMPA to start a clinical trial of its candidate, LK-101 injection, for advanced solid tumors. The company claims this is the first personalized neoantigen vaccine and mRNA editing product to enter the clinic in China.
The NMPA accepted a BLA from Astellas Pharma Inc. for enfortumab vedotin, which is designed for the treatment of patients with locally advanced or metastatic urothelial cancer who previously received treatment with a PD-1/L1 inhibitor and platinum-based chemotherapy.
Health Guard Biotechnology Inc. raised ¥294 million (US$43 million) in an IPO on the SME-focused Beijing Stock Exchange, with the funds going to push the development of its HPV vaccines.