For biopharma, 2019 can be described as a terrific year – with a few asterisks. The financial markets were flourishing, with venture capital dollars, in particular, flowing to the sector, while dealmaking reached historic proportions. Meanwhile, scientific breakthroughs led the way as cell and gene therapies gained ground, the first signs of success emerged with new technologies like CRISPR and the long-awaited promise of genomics found its way to the front lines of health care.
MALAYSIA – Asian countries, like India, have been struggling to find a middle ground to the effective pricing of drugs and medical devices over the past year and several are looking at health technology assessment (HTA) programs as a solution for this issue in the coming year. Boston-headquartered consulting firm Analysis Group Inc. recently looked at how HTA programs in Japan, South Korea and China varied and what could be gleaned from their experiences.
BEIJING – China is aggressively pushing its goal to make drugs more affordable, and foreign pharma giants are adjusting their pricing strategy for a market that comprises nearly 20% of the world’s population and is expected to continue growing.
BEIJING – U.S. biotech Tracon Pharmaceuticals Inc., of San Diego, has in-licensed from Chinese drugmakers 3D Medicines (Beijing) Co. Ltd. and Jiangsu Alphamab Biopharmaceuticals Co. Ltd. the rights to develop envafolimab, a subcutaneous PD-L1 antibody, to treat soft tissue sarcoma in North America.
BEIJING – China made strides in the CAR T space this month. The country approved two more candidates to enter clinical trials in December, and forerunner Nanjing Legend Biotech Co. Ltd. said its investigational CAR T therapy LCAR-B38M/JNJ-4528 co-developed with Janssen Biotech Inc. won FDA’s breakthrough therapy designation.
A Chinese study has established a previously unknown direct mechanistic link between elevated mechanical tension caused by impaired alveolar regeneration and progressive idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF), highlighting a pathogenic mechanism that may underlie fibrosis.
BEIJING – China made strides in the CAR T space this month. The country approved two more candidates to enter clinical trials in December, and forerunner Nanjing Legend Biotech Co. Ltd. said its investigational CAR T therapy LCAR-B38M/JNJ-4528 co-developed with Janssen Biotech Inc. won FDA’s breakthrough therapy designation.
BEIJING – Gene therapy startup Hui-Gene Therapeutics Ltd. Co., of Shanghai, said it secured more than ¥100 million (US$14 million) in a series A financing round to develop a safer gene therapy to treat genetic diseases caused by single-base mutations.
BEIJING – Jinan, China-based Qilu Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd. has won the first approval for a China-developed biosimilar to Avastin (bevacizumab, Roche Holding AG). Its biosimilar QL-1101, to be sold under the trade name Ankada, has been approved to treat advanced, metastatic or recurrent non-small-cell lung cancer and metastatic colorectal cancer.
PERTH, Australia – Private Chinese investors have launched a new AU$45 million (US$31.17 million) investment fund to accelerate the development and commercialization of new biotechnology from South Australia for the global market.
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