HONG KONG – Japan has become the first country in the world to approve Veklury (remdesivir), Gilead Sciences Inc.’s experimental drug, to treat COVID-19. The fast approval was based on U.S. data and that country’s emergency use of the drug to tackle the pandemic, although it is unclear whether the drug is safe or effective for treating COVID-19.
HONG KONG – The Japanese government is tightening its grip on its listed companies, including those working on promising COVID-19 treatments. On May 8, the Japanese Ministry of Finance released a list of 518 companies that would be subject to stricter restrictions on receiving foreign investments.
HONG KONG – South Korea’s Hanmi Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd. has filed a new drug approval application for Rolontis (eflapegrastim) with the country’s Ministry of Food and Drug Safety (MDFS).
HONG KONG – South Korea’s Bridge Biotherapeutics Inc. wrapped up the week by announcing its awaited IND clearance for its epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) tyrosine kinase inhibitor, BBT-176, for non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) from the country’s Ministry of Food and Drug Safety (MFDS) on May 7.
HONG KONG – Japan has become the first country in the world to approve Veklury (remdesivir), Gilead Sciences Inc.’s experimental drug, to treat COVID-19. The fast approval was based on U.S. data and that country’s emergency use of the drug to tackle the pandemic, although it is unclear whether the drug is safe or effective for treating COVID-19.
HONG KONG – After inking a recent deal with China’s Jiangsu Hengrui Medicine Co. Ltd., South Korea’s Crystalgenomics Inc. is celebrating its 20th anniversary by seeking more partners to further develop its anti-PD-1 inhibitor pipeline.
HONG KONG – Israeli biopharma Redhill Biopharma Ltd. is looking to extend access to its new investigational drug, opaganib (Yeliva, ABC-294640), following the drug’s initial success from a compassionate-use study treating six patients in Israel hospitalized with moderate to severe COVID-19 symptoms.
HONG KONG – Israeli biopharma Redhill Biopharma Ltd. is looking to extend access to its new investigational drug, opaganib (Yeliva, ABC-294640), following the drug’s initial success from a compassionate-use study treating six patients in Israel hospitalized with moderate to severe COVID-19 symptoms.
HONG KONG – The South Korean Ministry of Health and Welfare (MHW) is seeking a manager for its new ₩100 billion (US$81.63 million) private equity fund, which aims to help domestic biotech and medical device companies expand into overseas markets.
HONG KONG – Not even the 9,500 kilometers between Cambridge, U.K., and Tokyo, or the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, could prevent Japan’s Astellas Pharma Inc. from completing its acquisition of Cambridge-based Nanna Therapeutics Ltd. in a £12 million (US$14.78 million) deal.
