The lack of data surrounding the efficacy of Chinese COVID-19 vaccines against the Delta variant has had many questioning them, especially after a recent study showed that one of those vaccines, Sinovac Biotech Ltd.’s Coronavac, was less effective than Pfizer Inc. and Biontech SE’s Comirnaty in Chile.
Harbour Biomed Therapeutics Ltd. said its anti-FcRn monoclonal antibody, batoclimab, generated top-line phase II data in generalized myasthenia gravis, and the company expects to move into a phase III study by the end of this year, with final data reported in April 2022.
The China NMPA’s Center for Drug Evaluation accepted Lepu Biopharma Co. Ltd.’s new drug application (NDA) for anti-PD-1 antibody candidate HX-008 (pucotenlimab). That comes after the company filed for an IPO in Hong Kong.
Junshi Biosciences Co. Ltd. entered an agreement with Immorna Biotechnology Co. Ltd. to establish a joint venture (JV) as part of its efforts to expand into the mRNA sector.
Having created a profitable preclinical services business, Biocytogen Pharmaceuticals Co. Ltd. is now working to develop its own pipeline of antibody therapeutics, recently inking a partnership with China Resources Biopharmaceutical Co. Ltd. to develop drugs for oncology and immunology indications and raising “tens of millions of dollars” in a new financing round to support the development of its antibody drugs.
Keymed Biosciences Inc. debuted on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange (HKSE) on July 8, raising HK$2.94 billion (US$378.48 million) in the process. The company will use the funds raised for the R&D and commercialization of key pipeline candidates.
I-Mab Biopharma Co. Ltd. announced collaborations with mRNA biotech company Immorna (Hangzhou) Biotechnology Co. Ltd. and AI-enabled R&D company Neox Biotech Co. Ltd., gaining access to transformative technologies to discover and develop oncology therapeutics.
Fresh from showcasing preliminary evidence for the tolerability and potential benefits of LVGN-6051 at ASCO’s annual meeting in June, Lyvgen Biopharma Holdings Co. Ltd. is gearing up to move its CD40 agonist LVGN-7409 to clinical trials in China after initial U.S. patient dosing.
Hutchmed Ltd., already listed in the U.S. and London, returned to home soil June 30 for a third IPO on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange that reaped HK$4.17 billion (US$537.2 million). The Hong Kong-based company is currently looking to score its first FDA approval to tap the U.S. market after three China approvals.
Beigene Ltd. got the green light for an IPO on the Shanghai Stock Exchange’s Science and Technology Innovation Board, a specialized board known as the STAR Market, that could be worth around $3 billion. It would make Beigene the first biotech company with listings in the U.S., Hong Kong and mainland China.