HONG KONG – Tetraphase Pharmaceuticals Inc., of Watertown, Mass., said its Chinese partner, Everest Medicines Ltd., has filed an application with Chinese regulators to initiate the phase III trial of its lead product eravacycline in complicated intra-abdominal infections (cIAIs). Read More
HONG KONG – China has exempted import tariffs for 28 drugs, including all cancer drugs. The move is aimed at lowering the high cost of medicines, particularly for cancer drugs, offered by the multinational firms in China, and is expected to reduce the amount by about 3 to 4 percent. Read More
SHANGHAI – Chengdu-based Hitgen Ltd. raised ¥250 million (US$39 million) in series B financing and inked a multi-year collaboration with Forma Therapeutics Inc, of Watertown, Mass. With a major DNA-encoded library (DEL) of small molecules, Hitgen has not found its relatively out-of-the-way location in southwestern China has held it back. Read More
PERTH, Australia – Sydney-based Immutep Ltd. unveiled new data for its phase I immunotherapy study that showed a long-lasting and durable response and an overall response rate of 61 percent in a melanoma study combining its lead immunotherapy with Merck's anti-PD-1 therapy Keytruda (pembrolizumab). Read More
HONG KONG – Preclinical data from a Sino-US study suggest that a tyrosine kinase inhibitor originally developed to treat lymphoma and leukemia, Imbruvica (ibrutinib, Abbvie Inc./Johnson & Johnson), could also target glioma stem cells (GSCs), effectively controlling glioblastoma growth. Read More
Hangzhou Just Biotherapeutics, of Shanghai, said it completed a $35 million series B+ financing round led by Hillhouse Capital with participation from its existing investors Temasek, Lilly Asia Ventures, Arch Venture Partners, Taikang and BOCGI Zheshang Capital. The company is working in a number of areas including the completion of an R&D center and manufacturing facility, establishing its R&D and clinical development capabilities and building a world-class team. Read More
