Lianbio Co. Ltd. has inked a $200 million deal with Tarsus Pharmaceuticals Inc. for greater China rights to the phase IIb/III-stage candidate, TP-03 (lotilaner ophthalmic solution, 0.25%), designed to treat Demodex blepharitis and Meibomian gland disease (MGD). Lianbio will pay $15 million up front and up to $185 million in development and commercialization milestones.

PERTH, Australia – Analytica Ltd. signed a joint venture agreement with Hebei Nacol Bio-Technology Co. Ltd. and Shijiazhuang Biosphere Pty Ltd., of Hebei Province, China, to manufacture and distribute its Pericoach device for urinary incontinence in China, Macau, Hong Kong and Taiwan.

Zai Lab Ltd., China rights holder for the Deciphera Pharmaceuticals Inc. drug Qinlock (ripretinib), has obtained NMPA approval for the therapy, a treatment for adults with advanced gastrointestinal stromal tumors (GIST) previously treated with three or more kinase inhibitors, including imatinib, sunitinib and regorafenib.

Suzhou-China based Cstone Pharmaceuticals Co. Ltd., which in-licensed RET inhibitor pralsetinib from Blueprint Medicines Corp. in 2018, has won Chinese approval for the drug to treat adult patients with locally advanced or metastatic RET fusion-positive non-small-cell lung cancer after platinum-based chemotherapy. Already approved as Gavreto in the U.S., the drug is Cstone’s first product approved in China and the country’s first selective RET inhibitor.

The continuing politicization of COVID-19 vaccines is undermining medical science and the international response to the pandemic. “Vaccine nationalism is very troubling,” Jeremy Levin, chair of BIO's executive committee, told BioWorld.

Qihan Biotechology Co. Ltd., a company known for its multiplexable genome editing technology, has yet again extended its series A financing, this time with a $67 million round that will support advancement of its allogeneic cell therapy candidates to IND in China. To date the company has raised more than $100 million.

Suzhou-China based Cstone Pharmaceuticals Co. Ltd., which in-licensed RET inhibitor pralsetinib from Blueprint Medicines Corp. in 2018, has won Chinese approval for the drug to treat adult patients with locally advanced or metastatic RET fusion-positive non-small-cell lung cancer after platinum-based chemotherapy. Already approved as Gavreto in the U.S., the drug is Cstone’s first product approved in China and the country’s first selective RET inhibitor.

Genetron Holdings Ltd. said its blood-based, early screening test for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) demonstrated 88% sensitivity and 93% specificity in 1,615 subjects in China vs. 71% sensitivity and 95% specificity with the use of ultrasound plus alpha-fetoprotein (AFP). The primary outcome, unveiled on March 25, came from a multicenter prospective trial that Beijing-based Genetron initiated together with The National Cancer Center China in 2019.

The continuing politicization of COVID-19 vaccines is undermining medical science and the international response to the pandemic. “Vaccine nationalism is very troubling,” Jeremy Levin, chair of the Biotechnology Innovation Organization’s (BIO) executive committee, told BioWorld.