Prana Biotechnology Ltd., of Melbourne, Australia, added Ira Shoulson to its board. Shoulson is a professor of neurology, pharmacology and human science at Georgetown University, and director of the University's Program for Regulatory Science and Medicine.

Oxthera AB, of Stockholm, was issued Australian Patent No. 2006326016 related to pharmaceutical preparations and their use for treatment of hyperoxaluria.

Tokyo-based Daiichi Sankyo Co. Ltd. discontinued a phase III trial for nimotuzumab on the recommendation of an independent data monitoring committee after four treatment-related deaths were observed, all in the nimotuzumab arm.

HONG KONG – Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK) researchers report being unable to replicate controversial research purporting to create stimulus-triggered acquisition of pluripotent (STAP) stem cells, which behave like induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cells, by simple acid-based treatment of somatic cells, suggesting that the method is not as simple or straightforward as initially claimed.

Japanese firm Yakult Honsha Co. Ltd. completed phase I trials for resminostat – licensed from German firm 4SC AG – in solid tumors, as the partners hope to move forward with the target indication of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) in Japan, where liver cancer is one of the largest causes of cancer-related death.

HONG KONG – Four years after it was sidelined, a pentavalent vaccine produced by the Indian arm of Sanofi Pasteur (the vaccine division of Sanofi SA) – Shantha Biotechnics Ltd. – received prequalification status from the World Health Organization. The prequalification means that United Nations agencies like UNICEF can now purchase the vaccine for use across its programs, mostly in emerging countries.

HONG KONG – A Japanese research institute has closed a controversial chapter in its history by refusing to reinvestigate misconduct by a high-profile scientist and has set up a committee of outside experts to suggest future steps to prevent fraud.

HONG KONG – The U.S. FDA has, for the first time ever, approved the use of a biologic product made by a Chinese company in U.S. investigational new drug trials.

SUZHOU, China – Venture investing in China's life sciences industry continued a three-year upswing in 2013, according to speakers at the Chinabio Partnering Forum, with more than $1 billion in publicly disclosed deals last year. Cynics might correctly argue the amount represents just a fraction of the annual R&D budget of a single large pharma. Still, the steady rise in venture capital (VC) – much of it homegrown – represents another key indicator that China is building a sustainable life sciences ecosystem.