Beigene Co. Ltd., of Beijing, said it achieved a $9 million milestone payment relating to its collaboration with Merck Serono, the biopharmaceutical division of Merck KGaA, of Darmstadt, Germany, for BGB-290, an investigational poly (ADP-ribose) polymerase (PARP) inhibitor candidate currently in phase 1 development. Beigene enrolled the fifth patient in the study, which triggered the milestone payment.
NEW DELHI – India's expected share in the global market for biosimilars is between 20 percent and 25 percent in the next five years, but analysts caution that the country needs to improve its funding, innovation capabilities and regulation for large molecule drugs.
HONG KONG – A study by British and University of Hong Kong (HKU) researchers has provided the first direct evidence that reduced genetic diversity is associated with a reduction in virulence of the influenza A virus (IAV) in mice, providing a target for development of new antiviral drugs and a means to improve live attenuated vaccines.
SHANGHAI – Eddingpharm Co. Ltd. began in 2001 by working with global companies in the spirit of partnership, by capitalizing on its knowledge of the China market for both its own and its partner's advantage. A second deal with nanobody developer Ablynx NV in less than a year shows it's continuing in this vein, making forays into the hairier terrain of biologics.
SHANGHAI – GC-Rise Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd. has received $15 million in series B financing from Orbimed Asia to pursue a strategy of in-licensing and commercializing products from the West to meet the growing health needs of women and children in China.
Eisai Co. Ltd., of Tokyo, said a new subgroup analysis showed significant improvement in progression-free survival with lenvatinib in radioiodine-refractory differentiated thyroid cancer compared with placebo, 18.3 months vs. 3.6 months. Results are being presented at the European Thyroid Association 38th Annual Meeting.
SHANGHAI – Upstart Beigene Co. Ltd. wowed observers last year when it landed two deals Merck Serono, a division of Merck KGaA, which licensed global rights to two of their preclinical oncology candidates for a combined value of close to $500 million. Out of the limelight, Beigene's momentum has not wavered. It has moved three oncology candidates into the clinic, the latest being Bruton tyrosine kinase (BTK) inhibitor, BGB-3111.
HONG KONG – As researchers around the world speed up their efforts to develop and register new and more effective treatments for Ebola, China announced the approval of its first drug against the fatal virus for emergency use.
TOKYO – The government of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe plans to bring together government institutions, private companies and academia to assist with the commercialization of Japan's first-class drugs and medical devices.
RSS