China announced Jan. 17 which further pharmaceutical companies it will buy from under its centralized procurement program that seeks the lowest prices. The price war has forced foreign players to revalue the Chinese market and prompted Chinese players to come up with survival strategies under a policy that aims to consolidate the industry.
SAN FRANCISCO – Pacing the stage at this year's China Showcase Saturday, Chinabio CEO Greg Scott sounded a touch disappointed. Last year lacked the kind of record-breaking stats he likes to punctuate with iconic explosions, a common image in his widely valued China health care talks. "Simply stated, business is continuing as normal," he said.
China-based Innovent Biologics Inc. will need to get on two new tasks this year: Preparing for the first clinical trial for an anti-TIGIT antibody in China and investigating the combination therapy of its Tyvyt (sintilimab) and Sirnaomics Inc.’s STP-705.
BEIJING – Chinese scientist He Jiankui has been sentenced to three years in prison and fined ¥3 million (US$429,421) for illegally carrying out the human embryo gene editing that led to the birth of twin girls and another baby with heritable changes to their genomes.
BEIJING – China is aggressively pushing its goal to make drugs more affordable, and foreign pharma giants are adjusting their pricing strategy for a market that comprises nearly 20% of the world’s population and is expected to continue growing. To achieve its goals, China is using its huge population, which stands at 1.43 billion, as a bargaining chip to negotiate prices with pharmaceutical companies.
MALAYSIA – Asian countries, like India, have been struggling to find a middle ground to the effective pricing of drugs and medical devices over the past year and several are looking at health technology assessment (HTA) programs as a solution for this issue.
BEIJING – U.S. biotech Tracon Pharmaceuticals Inc., of San Diego, has in-licensed from Chinese drugmakers 3D Medicines (Beijing) Co. Ltd. and Jiangsu Alphamab Biopharmaceuticals Co. Ltd. the rights to develop envafolimab, a subcutaneous PD-L1 antibody, to treat soft tissue sarcoma in North America.
BEIJING – China made strides in the CAR T space this month. The country approved two more candidates to enter clinical trials in December, and forerunner Nanjing Legend Biotech Co. Ltd. said its investigational CAR T therapy LCAR-B38M/JNJ-4528 co-developed with Janssen Biotech Inc. won FDA’s breakthrough therapy designation.
BEIJING – Jinan, China-based Qilu Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd. has won the first approval for a China-developed biosimilar to Avastin (bevacizumab, Roche Holding AG). Its biosimilar QL-1101, to be sold under the trade name Ankada, has been approved to treat advanced, metastatic or recurrent non-small-cell lung cancer and metastatic colorectal cancer.
PERTH, Australia – Private Chinese investors have launched a new AU$45 million (US$31.17 million) investment fund to accelerate the development and commercialization of new biotechnology from South Australia for the global market.
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