For the pharmaceutical industry caught in the crosshairs of a potential trade war, the consequences of U.S. tariffs on China or Europe remain largely speculative, although both would be detrimental, according to a Korea Biotechnology Industry Organization (KoreaBIO) issue briefing Feb. 7.
The European Commission on Feb. 5 cleared Shanghai Henlius Biotech Inc.’s serplulimab (HLX-02) under the brand name of Hetronifly as a first-line combination therapy with carboplatin and etoposide to treat extensive-stage small-cell lung cancer.
The U.K. is continuing to shape up regulation, adding reform of its accelerated drug approval process and its draft guidance on personalized mRNA cancer vaccines to new clinical trial regulations that will come into force early in 2026. The Innovative Licensing and Access Pathway has been relaunched following a review of the industry’s experience of the scheme since its introduction in January 2021, and it will be open for applications from next month.
To say that European investors are optimistic about the outlook for the med-tech sector in 2025 is an understatement. A couple of companies are already listed on public markets, acquisitions have been undertaken and med-tech players with cash-rich balance sheets are on the hunt.
Europe has more oncology startups than the U.S., but many more U.S. companies scale up to the later growth stage. Given the proven links between patent ownership and access to finance, that critical gap is in part because U.S. companies hold nearly twice as many patents as European counterparts, according to an analysis by the European Patent Office.
Inflammatory diseases specialist AB2 Bio Ltd. has signed a potential $686 million U.S. commercialization deal for its interleukin-18 neutralizing drug tadekinig. The agreement with Japanese pharma company Nippon Shinyaku Co. Ltd. includes an initial payment of $6 million, with a further $30 million due later this year.
The U.K. Medicines and Health Care Products Regulatory Agency has provided guidance on what does and does not constitute a regulated digital mental health technology, but developers should be aware that promotional claims could push a product from the unregulated to the regulated category.
C the Signs Ltd. recently received a capital injection of $8 million from Khosla Ventures to expand its AI-powered cancer prediction platform to the U.S. market.
Essilorluxottica SA received U.S. FDA clearance for its over-the-counter Nuance Audio Glasses, which combines sight and sound technologies, to help people improve their vision and hearing. The device also received a CE mark certification under the Medical Devices Regulation from the EU authorities.
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