Akeso Pharmaceuticals Inc. raised $250 million via a public offering that will allow the company to accelerate clinical development of its internally developed drugs in both China and international markets. The offering consists of 31.7 million shares priced at HKD$61.28 (US$7.88) per share and marks the second successful placement in 2024 for Guangdong, China-based Akeso. Following the offering, the company's cash on hand is expected to be $1.064 billion.

China’s National Medical Products Administration has approved Sino Biopharmaceutical Ltd.’s rivastigmine transdermal patch to treat mild to moderate Alzheimer’s disease. Developed by Sino Biopharm, the patch is the first domestically produced rivastigmine transdermal patch approved for marketing. Rivastigmine is a cholinesterase inhibitor used for the treatment of Alzheimer’s disease.

China’s National Medical Products Administration (NMPA) has accepted NDAs for Innovent Biologics Inc.’s IL-23p19 antibody picankibart to treat moderate to severe plaque psoriasis, and Lepu Biopharma’s antibody-drug conjugate MRG-003, to treat recurrent or metastatic nasopharyngeal cancer.

Akeso Pharmaceuticals Inc. scored two approvals from China’s National Medical Products Administration on Sept. 30 before the long Labor Day holiday – one for its PCSK9 inhibitor, ebronucimab, and the second to expand use of PD-1/CTLA4 bispecific antibody cadonilimab in unresectable or metastatic gastric or gastroesophageal junction adenocarcinoma, marking the second indication for cadonilimab in China.

Innovent Biologics Inc. unveiled for the first time safety and efficacy data of IBI-354, an HER2 monoclonal antibody-camptothecin derivative conjugate that shows promising efficacy signals across a range of advanced solid tumors, during the European Society of Medical Oncology (ESMO) 2024 Congress. An HER2-targeted antibody-drug conjugate developed using Innovent's topoisomerase inhibitor NT3 platform, IBI-354 combines a hydrophilic linker design with a hydrophobic payload to enhance the bystander effect, targeting adjacent antigen-low or negative tumor cells.

Both the biotech industry and Hong Kong have become strategic points for China as the People’s Republic of China works to lay a biotech “belt and road” through Asia to expand global influence.

Two leading glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) receptor agonists for obesity and type 2 diabetes – Novo Nordisk A/S’s semaglutide (Wegovy/Ozempic) and Eli Lilly and Co.’s tirzepatide (Mounjaro/Zepbound) – are advancing in China after taking the U.S. market by storm.

As Novo Nordisk A/S and Eli Lilly and Co. go head-to-head in the U.S. and Chinese glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonists (GLP-1RA) market for diabetes and obesity, Novo Nordisk is in innovator gear once more with leading studies of GLP-1s in Alzheimer’s disease.