HONG KONG – In the midst of a COVID-19 crisis, India has waived the need for “well-established” foreign vaccines to undergo local trials. That could open doors for vaccines by Pfizer Inc., Johnson & Johnson and Moderna Inc.
China is making strides in cell and gene therapy, notably so with a 61% surge in the number of clinical trials in six years, a new report by Ernst & Young showed. While analysts noted the increasing innovation efforts and cross-border collaborations, concerns remain if quality will be compromised by speed.
HONG KONG – Following a wave of concern about the efficacy of two COVID-19 vaccine candidates developed by China National Pharmaceutical Group (Sinopharm), interim analysis of an ongoing phase III trial, published May 26 in the Journal of the American Medical Association, has shown that adults receiving at least one dose of either of the company’s two inactivated SARS-CoV-2 vaccines had significantly reduced the risk of symptomatic COVID-19.
Engine Biosciences Pte. Ltd., a Singapore and Silicon Valley-based company using machine learning, combinatorial genetics and other technologies to hasten the discovery of gene interactions and biological networks underlying disease, has raised $43 million in series A financing. Polaris Partners led the round, which the company said would help it expand its portfolio of precision oncology therapeutics, prepare for its first clinical programs, and scale its technology platform.
Regulatory snapshots, including drug submissions and approvals, clinical trial approvals and other regulatory decisions and designations in Asia-Pacific, including: Affamed, Ascletis, Foresee, Gannex, Glaxosmithkline, Hightide, Humanigen, Immunitybio, Mezzion, Ocugen, Optimus, PCI, TLC, Vir.
Biopharma happenings in Asia-Pacific, such as deals and partnerships, grants, preclinical data and other news in brief, including: 9 Meters, ACM, Aim Immunotech, Altimmune, Astrazeneca, Beroni, Beyond Air, Boan Biotech, Bristol Myers Squibb, Circassia, Clarus, Dyadic International, Havah, Inhalon, La Jolla Institute for Immunology, Onk Therapeutics, Pfizer, RDIF, Recce, Roche, Shenzhen Smoore Technology, Synbal, Syngene International, Taiwan Liposome, Tella, Tetra, Transthera, University Hospital Zurich, Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research, Xencor, Zydus Cadila.
The top 100 public biopharmaceutical companies with market caps greater than $1 billion, and excluding big pharma companies, spent a total of almost $12 billion on R&D in the first quarter of 2021, compared to $9.4 billion invested last year. A BioWorld analysis of the quarterly filings of this group found that the 24% year-over-year increase in spending was driven, in part, by companies involved in developing COVID-19 vaccines and therapeutics.
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