Biopharma happenings in Asia-Pacific, such as deals and partnerships, grants, preclinical data and other news in brief: Arrivent, Astellas, Astrazeneca, Beigene, Biontech, Hansoh, Innocare, Iveric, Lianbio, Novartis, Monopar, Silence, Sumitomo, Zhejiang Doer.
The biopharma industry experienced a notable decline in deal values and activity in June 2023, with a 48.51% decrease in deal values and a 43.62% decrease in the number of deals completed compared to the previous June. M&As, however, showed a remarkable 824.59% increase in value year over year in June, thanks to several billion-dollar transactions.
China’s NMPA approved Daiichi Sankyo Co. Ltd. and Astrazeneca plc’s Enhertu (fam-trastuzumab deruxtecan) as the first HER2-directed therapy for patients with HER2-low metastatic breast cancer.
GC Biopharma Corp., formerly Green Cross Corp., said July 17 that it refiled the BLA for its intravenous immune globulin agent Alyglo (GC-5107B; IVIG-SN 10%) to the U.S. FDA – nearly a year and a half after the regulator’s initial rejection.
Another collaboration between two biopharmaceutical companies in the Asia-Pacific region is adding fuel to an already heated fire for antibody-drug conjugate (ADC) development worldwide. Suzhou, China-headquartered Genequantum Healthcare Co. Ltd. and South Korea’s Aimedbio Inc. recently announced extending an existing partnership to jointly develop five ADC investigative drugs.
Questionable efficacy, high priced and risky side effects are some words to describe Leqembi (lecanemab), the latest amyloid beta-targeting antibody approved by the U.S. FDA, Korean experts said, but none of that diminishes the profound significance of the drug for Alzheimer’s disease.
From Roche Holding AG to Novartis AG, bad news abounds for anti-TIGIT immunotherapies. In an SEC filing on July 11, Chinese oncology R&D firm Beigene Ltd. and Basel, Switzerland-based Novartis announced an end to their $1 billion deal to develop the former’s TIGIT immunotherapy ociperlimab, with the checkpoint inhibitor going back to Beigene.
RSS
