SHANGHAI – In a case that has caused a stir among the community of returnee research scientists and even the wider drug-buying public, the U.S. attorney's office has taken the unusual move of requesting a federal judge to dismiss criminal charges filed against two former Eli Lilly and Co. employees of Chinese ethnicity working in the U.S.

SHANGHAI – Generon Corp. Ltd., believed to be the first Chinese biotech to complete a phase II global trial for a biologic, has announced the results for its lead candidate, F-627 (benegrastim), a next-generation drug to Amgen Inc.'s Neulasta (pegfilgrastim) for the treatment of neutropenia.

HONG KONG – Early oral administration of an immune modulator that is normally used for treatment of relapsing multiple sclerosis (MS) significantly reduced brain inflammation and improved the clinical outcomes of acute ischemic stroke (AIS) patients enrolled in a small, early phase pilot study conducted in China.

TOKYO – Japanese authorities are stepping up their push to become more transparent by working with foreign companies in the health care product market.

HONG KONG – Samsung Bioepis Co. Ltd., the biopharmaceutical arm of Samsung Group, is readying itself to enter the global biosimilars game.

Zydus Cadila Group, of New Delhi, India, said it launched a biosimilar of Humira (adalimumab, Abbvie Inc.) in India for rheumatoid arthritis and other autoimmune disorders. Zydus will market the product as Exemptia.

SHANGHAI – Adagene Inc., of Suzhou, has raised $8 million in series A financing from a consortium of backers, including Fidelity Biosciences, Fidelity Asia Growth and Wuxi Venture Fund, an investment vehicle for Wuxi Apptec. First established in 2011, Adagene, an antibody discovery company, has been quietly developing its technology and is gearing up for its next stage of development.

NEW DELHI – India's leading cancer treatment hospital has requested the country's drug pricing regulator to delete three cancer drugs from its national list of essential medicines (NLEM), and instead add a dozen others. The regulator has put up the list in the public domain for feedback, before taking a decision.

HONG KONG – The elucidation of the core structure of a secretory channel in the bacterial outer membrane may provide a target for the development of novel antibiotics aimed at attenuating biofilm formation, Chinese scientists report in the Dec. 1, 2014, early online edition of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.