Lianbio Co. Ltd. announced mixed phase III top-line results on Oct. 30 for its in-licensed Demodex blepharitis treatment called TP-03, with the U.S. FDA-approved eyedrop hitting just one co-primary endpoint in the Libra trial on Chinese patients.
Elevar Therapeutics Inc. and Hengrui Pharmaceuticals Co. Ltd.’s licensing deal for camrelizumab (SHR-1210; Airuika in China) will add the PD-1 antibody to Elevar’s liver cancer armory for pairing with rivoceranib, its tyrosine kinase inhibitor on the brink of U.S. FDA review.
GSK plc is the latest pharma giant to bite the “magic bullet” of antibody-drug conjugate (ADC) drugs, promising to pay the Chinese immunotherapy developer Hansoh Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd. $85 million up front and over $1.4 billion in milestone payments in a licensing deal for HS-20089.
Abbisko Therapeutics Co. Ltd. announced positive first-in-human data for its highly selective fibroblast growth factor receptor (FGFR) 4 inhibitor, irpagratinib (ABSK-011), for treating advanced hepatocellular carcinoma with FGF19 overexpression, which is seen in roughly 30% of liver cancers.
In its first significant partnering deal since being founded in 2020, Medilink Therapeutics Co. Ltd. licensed exclusive global rights to an antibody-drug conjugate (ADC) targeting HER3 to Biontech SE in exchange for an up-front payment of $70 million, with the possibility for additional payments tied to development, regulatory and commercial milestones exceeding $1 billion. Medilink retains rights in mainland China, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region and Macau Special Administrative Region.
China is pushing to increase biopharma investment to woo foreign investors, and the State Council laid out policy areas to further incentivize foreign companies to expand their operations in the country. Among those policies are guaranteeing equal treatment of foreign-invested enterprises and domestic enterprises, particularly in government procurement activities.
Sanofi SA will pay $10 million up front and potentially $1 billion down the road to build artificial intelligence (AI) drug discovery modules with Biomap – the Silicon Valley-based biotech led by Chinese billionaire, software engineer and serial entrepreneur Robin Li known for founding China’s largest internet search engine and AI platform, Baidu, in 2000.
Arbele Ltd. founder and CEO John Luk identified and patented cadherin-17 as a therapeutic cancer target, and the company was founded to develop immunotherapies for gastrointestinal cancers, which are prevalent in Asia Pacific.
Qyuns Therapeutics Co. Ltd. has filed to list on the Hong Kong Exchange to fund its autoimmune and allergic disease therapy pipeline, including lead assets QX-002N for ankylosing spondylitis and QX-005N for multiple indications including atopic dermatitis.
Five life science firms from the U.S., Asia and Germany have banded together to launch a Singapore biotech “incubator” called 65LAB in hopes of finding, funding and accelerating promising research from Singapore’s leading academic institutions to commercialization.
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