HONG KONG – A criminal probe associated with allegations of manipulated data in Japan is not slowing Swiss drugmaker Novartis AG’s expansion in the market, the second largest in the world.
HONG KONG – Stockholm-based Dilafor AB inked a licensing agreement for its tafoxiparin, a drug designed to prevent protracted labor, with Hong Kong’s Lee’s Pharmaceutical Holdings Ltd. (HK:0950).
HONG KONG – With a supportive environment for regenerative medicine created by the Japanese government, Takara Bio Inc. (TYO: 4974), has launched a phase I clinical trial to study its MAGE-A4 antigen-specific T-cell receptor (TCR) gene therapy in esophageal cancer.
HONG KONG – Shanghai, the economic hub of China, wants to recreate itself into the biopharmaceutical development center of China, aiming to generate ¥350 billion (US$57.7 billion) in economic aggregate by the end of 2017.
HONG KONG – Most of Favrille Inc.’s market value vanished in 2008 after the firm said it would cease development of its active immunotherapy Specifid, which missed its primary endpoint in a pivotal phase III study in non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma. Almost a year later, San Diego-based Favrille merged with MyMedical-Records.com. The company once best known for providing health care IT services is just now stepping up its push into the biotechnology space in Asia.
HONG KONG – The High Court of Delhi has forbidden Biocon Ltd. and Mylan Inc. from comparing Canmab and Hertraz to Roche AG’s breast cancer drug Herceptin (trastuzumab), even though they were approved as biosimilar versions of the drug.
HONG KONG – In the wake of an outbreak, two Chinese vaccine makers have filed applications for clinical trials for their vaccines for H7N9 avian flu and are waiting for approvals from the China Food and Drug Administration (CFDA).
HONG KONG – Looking to solidify its pipeline and extend patent protection for some of its top selling oncology products, Takeda Pharmaceutical Co. has launched a series of late-stage trials, including a Phase III clinical trial in Asia for its oral proteasome inhibitor MLN9708 (ixazomib citrate). Much of the work will be done in China.
HONG KONG – China’s largest producer of hepatitis B vaccine (HBV) was allowed to put its products back on market after the China Food and Drug Administration (CFDA) cleared it of any links to the deaths of 17 children.
