HONG KONG and BEIJING – China’s Sinovac Biotech Ltd. delayed releasing trial data from its Coronavac COVID-19 vaccine while the National Medical Products Administration (NMPA) accepted an NDA from China National Biotec Group (CNBG) for its own vaccine, BBIBP-CorV.
China has added 119 new drugs to its national reimbursement drug list (NRDL) with an average price cut of 50.64%, a move that biopharmaceutical insiders said will further encourage drug innovation at home, despite lower drug prices. More innovative drugs, notably all homegrown PD-1 inhibitors, are included in the latest NRDL that will take effect from March 1, 2021 to the end of 2023.
HONG KONG – Shanghai Junshi Biosciences Co. Ltd.’s toripalimab has reached its prespecified primary endpoint of progression-free survival at the interim analysis of a phase III study in non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC), as efforts to expand approval of the anti-PD-1 antibody into other cancer types are underway.
Shares in Chinese drug developer Jacobio Pharmaceuticals Group Co. Ltd. (HK:1167) rose 3% on their first day of trading in Hong Kong. The company, which develops small-molecule drug candidates to modulate enzymes by binding to their allosteric sites, raised HK$1.35 billion (US$174.1 million) in its IPO, pricing 96 million shares at HK$14. Shares closed at HK$14.42 on Dec. 21 after rising as high as HK$16.50.
Kintor Pharmaceutical Ltd. said it's "actively initiating" multiregional phase II/III trials to test a combination of GT-90001 (ascrinvacumab) and Opdivo (nivolumab) for advanced hepatocellular carcinoma.
BEIJING – Denovo Biopharma LLC closed a series D financing round to raise nearly ¥300 million (US$46 million), just six months after its $83.5 million series C round.
Scineuro Pharmaceuticals, based in Shanghai and Philadelphia, launched with a $100 million series A financing to focus on tackling central nervous system diseases. CEO Min Li told BioWorld the startup is “building a CNS portfolio through a combination of internal R&D and strategic collaborations.” Lilly Asia Ventures Fund and Arch Venture Partners co-led the round.
Clinical-stage biopharma HBM Holdings Ltd. (also known as Harbour Biomed) debuted on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange on Dec. 10, raising HK$1.71 billion (US$220.7 million) to advance its autoimmune candidates to commercial launches in 2023.
HONG KONG – Takeda Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd. has received Chinese approval for Takhzyro (lanadelumab), its fully human monoclonal antibody, delivered via subcutaneous injection, for prophylaxis to prevent attacks of hereditary angioedema (HAE) in patients 12 and older.
Chinese biopharma Impact Therapeutics Inc. of Nanjing raised $50 million in a series C+ round on Nov. 30, two years after its $30 million series C round. Impact’s CEO Jun Bao told BioWorld that the majority of the proceeds would be used to take several programs forward. The financing round also paved the way toward an IPO.
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