Elix Inc. has teamed up with Shionogi & Co. Ltd. to validate a retrosynthetic analysis model for drug discovery that will employ chemical reaction data from Shionogi to explore various routes to synthesizing new molecules.
Innovent Biologics Inc. has acquired exclusive rights to commercialize Eli Lilly and Co.’s oncology drugs Cyramza (ramucirumab) and Retsevmo (selpercatinib) in mainland China, where it will be responsible for the pricing, importation, marketing, distribution and sales of the two products.
Nuance Pharma Co. Ltd. signed a licensing deal with Denmark’s Bavarian Nordic A/S for rights to its MVA-BN RSV vaccine for respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) in the Chinese mainland, Hong Kong, Macau, Taiwan, South Korea and certain Southeast Asian countries.
SCG Cell Therapy Pte. Ltd. has signed a collaboration agreement with Singapore’s Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR)’s Bioprocessing Technology Institute (BTI) to advance the development of multispecific antibodies.
Edigene Inc. has obtained nonexclusive, global rights to technology from Boston Children’s Hospital for technology related to increasing fetal hemoglobin levels by disrupting B-cell lymphoma/leukemia 11A (BCL11A) expression at the genomic level to treat hemoglobinopathies.
Bridge Biotherapeutics Inc. has signed an exclusive option-to-license agreement for Cellionbiomed Inc.’s preclinical ion channel modulator, BBT-301, thus adding a second idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) candidate to its fibrotic diseases portfolio. The company hopes to enter the clinic with the drug in the U.S. by the end of 2022.
Nec Corp. has acquired all of Vaximm AG’s neoantigen program assets. Tokyo-based Nec will conduct the acquisition via its subsidiary, Nec Oncoimmunity AS.
Everest Medicines Ltd. has acquired rights to develop and commercialize Nefecon (budesonide) for the treatment of primary IgA nephropathy in South Korea from Calliditas Therapeutics AB.
Chinese state-owned enterprise China Meheco Group Co. Ltd. has signed a deal with Pfizer Inc. to be its mainland China partner for the commercialization of the COVID-19 pill Paxlovid (nirmatrelvir and ritonavir), which won conditional approval from China’s NMPA earlier this year.
Adagene Inc. has announced a research collaboration with Sanofi SA, to find “masked” monoclonal and bispecific antibodies that are safer than marketed drugs in oncology, in a deal worth up to $2.5 billion plus royalties. San Diego and Suzhou, China-based Adagene will generate masked versions of Sanofi antibodies, taking responsibility for early stage research activities using its Safebody technology.