HONG KONG — The findings of a new study of gene regulation by androgen receptor (AR) splice variants (AR-Vs) by U.S and Chinese scientists could provide a pivotal pathway for drug designers to target, in order to disrupt AR-V signaling as a novel strategy for the effective treatment of advanced prostate cancer.

NEW DELHI – Yet another Indian contract research organization (CRO), Hyderabad-based Sipra Labs Ltd., has found itself in hot water after the U.S. FDA issued a warning letter over flaws detected in analytical procedures.

SHANGHAI – Ascentage Pharma Group and its pipeline of small-molecule, apoptosis-targeted cancer agents has bagged $15.5 million in a series A round from a group of Chinese venture investors. The drug discovery and development company is part of a growing breed of Chinese biotechs going after new drugs with global patents for clinically validated targets.

HONG KONG – An unexpected and large drop last week in the reference rate for the value of the Chinese renminbi (RMB) underscored the pressures that companies are facing in a market that remains key to both business and global economic growth.

Beigene Co. Ltd., of Beijing, appointed Howard Liang chief financial officer and chief strategy officer. Liang has more than 20 years of combined experience on Wall Street as an analyst covering the biotechnology and pharmaceutical sectors and as a scientist in the biopharmaceutical industry.

Celltrion Inc., of Incheon, South Korea, said Australia's Therapeutic Goods Administration approved its infliximab biosimilar Remsima. However, the follow-on, which references immunology drug Remicade (Johnson & Johnson), isn't likely to launch for several months, as it will take about half a year to set the price for the Australian market, Benjamin Chang, assistant manager of Celltrion's investor relations team, told BioWorld Asia.

HONG KONG – Disaster preparedness isn't a topic that shows up in frequent biopharma discussions or on conference agendas, but the powerful typhoon that hit Taiwan and Mainland China earlier this month – killing at least 34 people, damaging 65,000 homes and leaving more than 4 million homes without power – highlighted the importance of emergency preparedness for companies in the biopharma space, particularly when setting up shop in a country that is regularly assailed by huge storms and occasional earthquakes.

HONG KONG — The discovery that a novel mechanism of CD4+ T helper (Th) cell differentiation is mediated by co-stimulation of glucocorticoid-induced tumor necrosis factor receptor- (TNFR)-related protein (GITR) explains the mechanism of action of GITR-mediated cancer immunotherapies and warrants clinical trials of GITR agonists, a Korean study has found.

LSK Biopharma inked an exclusive license agreement with the University of Utah's Huntsman Cancer Institute (HCI) to develop and commercialize HCI-1401, an orally bioavailable, small-molecule, irreversible inhibitor of Bruton's tyrosine kinase (BTK). The new asset doubles the cancer pipeline for the Salt Lake City-based biotech, which earlier this year completed a phase I/II trial of its lead compound, apatinib mesylate (YN968D1), in solid tumors.