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.
Preclinical startup Tavotek Biotherapeutics Ltd., with operations in Pennsylvania and Suzhou, China, boasts two technology platforms for discovering and developing molecular-targeted biologics for cancers and autoimmune diseases and is working to push its candidates, including a bispecific antibody, to the clinic next year.
SHENZHEN, China – Ever since Chinese President Xi Jinping visited Shenzhen in October, the southern city has been tasked with developing itself into an innovation powerhouse. Biotech veterans now see Shenzhen, designated China’s first special economic zone in 1980 and a symbol of its opening up, as a biotech innovation hub that will take Chinese innovation overseas.
HONG KONG – Shanghai and New Jersey-based Lianbio has landed a commitment of up to $70 million in non-dilutive capital from a new collaboration with Pfizer Inc., just weeks raising $310 million in an oversubscribed crossover financing round.
HONG KONG – D3 Bio Inc. is the new kid on the biopharma block in Shanghai, kicking off with a $200 million series A financing backed by some of Asia’s most prominent venture capital firms.
HONG KONG – Hutchison China Meditech Ltd. (also known as Chi-Med) has received a $100 million equity investment from the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board, which will fund ongoing research, clinical development and commercialization capabilities.
SHENZHEN – While China is rather new in biotech innovation and still has potential for growth, industry insiders worry about the long-term sustainability of innovation. Speaking at a recent conference in the southern Chinese city of Shenzhen, various experts said sustaining innovation may depend on differentiation, globalization and reimbursement policies.