Big pharma continues to seek innovation in China despite rising geopolitical tension, speakers said at the Asia Bio Partnering Forum in Singapore April 24.
With a frozen IPO market, investors are tightening their belts and figuring out where to hedge their bets. In Asia, that means having different strategies for different countries while keeping a global mindset, venture capital (VC) investors said during the Asia Bio Partnering Forum in Singapore on April 25.
Space Liintech Co. Ltd., of Daejeon, South Korea, raised ₩4 billion (US$2.9 million) in a series A financing round to advance new drug research, development and production in outer space, as the private sector races to harness the orbit for pharmaceutical experiments.
In a $2.4 billion deal, Deciphera Pharmaceuticals Inc. is merging with Ono Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd. Ono is acquiring all of Deciphera’s outstanding stock shares for $25.60 each in cash. The merger helps Osaka, Japan-based Ono strengthen its oncology portfolio and its presence in the U.S.
As of Jan. 31, 2024, there were more than 300 CAR T trials registered in China, surpassing the U.S. and becoming the country with the most CAR T therapy clinical trials. Among them, CD19 is the most frequently studied target, according to BioWorld and Cortellis. The rapid evolution of CAR T-cell therapies in China has escalated over the past decade from the start of the first clinical trials in 2013 to the country becoming an established host for CAR T-cell-related trials by 2017, according to Yongxian Hu and researchers from Zhejiang University in Hangzhou, China. Chinese cell therapy companies – backed by $2.37 billion in funding in 2021 – have since significantly increased basic research and trial output for CAR Ts, which was welcomed by large patient demand.
China’s CAR T market is expected to grow from $72 million in 2022 to $342 million over the next decade. There are currently more than 400 CAR T therapies in the pipeline in China, and most of these are being developed by specialized Chinese biotechs. Research by Clarivate plc, BioWorld’s parent company, indicates that a notable proportion of CAR T-cell therapies in late-phase development in China are being developed through strategic partnerships and joint ventures between multinational corporations and domestic companies, including Johnson & Johnson and Nanjing Legend Biotech Corp., Juno Therapeutics Inc. and Wuxi Apptec Co. Ltd., and CASI Pharmaceuticals Inc. and Juventas Cell Therapy Ltd.
Orum Therapeutics Inc., of Boston and Daejeon, South Korea, is planning for an IPO on the Korea Exchange by the end of 2024, having passed a technology evaluation required for listing on the Kosdaq, a company spokesperson confirmed to BioWorld.
The latest World Health Organization’s (WHO) Pandemic Agreement falls short of protecting all countries in future pandemics, said international patient groups and public health organizations.
The industry in the U.K. is starting to get concerned about the U.S. Biosecure Act and the possible impact on its ability to use Chinese service providers, and the implications for future dealmaking with U.S.-based companies.
Regulatory snapshots, including drug submissions and approvals, clinical trial approvals and other regulatory decisions and designations in Asia-Pacific: Astellas, Apollomics, Avistone, Hutchmed, Lantern, Onconic, Ractigen, Shanghai Junshi.
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