SHANGHAI – Impact Therapeutics Inc., a China-based biotech dedicated to the discovery and development of new drugs, has received $10 million in series B financing from five investors to support the virtual firm's lead candidate, a poly ADP-ribose polymerase (PARP) inhibitor that may have the potential to be best-in-class in China, if not globally. Impact filed for an investigative new drug application (IND) for its PARP-1 inhibitor in China last month. Read More

HONG KONG – Three months after its first Chinese deal, South Korean clinical-stage biotech company Genexine Inc. (KOSDAQ:095700) is continuing its venture into China by out-licensing another drug candidate to one of the country's leading pharmaceutical companies. Read More

Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV) has been chased from the headlines by other viruses, but with a fatality rate of around 30 percent and the potential ability to spread from person to person, it remains a threat to global heath in the eyes of the World Health Organization. Now, researchers from the Navy Medical Research Center have reported using transchromosomal cows to generate polyclonal antibodies that could rapidly reduce the viral load in the lungs of MERS-CoV-infected mice. Read More

Mesoblast Ltd., the developer of a cell therapy for steroid-refractory acute graft-vs.-host disease (GVHD), reported that a new analysis of long-term data shows that children treated with the cells demonstrated clinically meaningful responses and significantly increased survival, with an overall response rate of 65 percent at 28 days after treatment. Read More

HONG KONG – South Korean biopharma companies are urging the government to speed up the implementation of supporting policies, particularly tax policies that could make it easier for young bioventures to become competitive. Read More

HONG KONG – South Korea's Samsung conglomerate is pouring tens of millions into Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS) research, less than a year after an oversight at one of the company's hospitals facilitated the spread of the deadly virus. Read More

Opioid-induced constipation (OIC) is among a handful of functional gastrointestinal disorders that have galvanized drug development efforts in recent years. Shionogi & Co. Ltd. is now looking to make its mark in the space. Read More

HONG KONG – New results from researchers at the University of Kyoto in Japan suggest that pancreatic exocrine tissue, which is primarily involved in digestion, could also play an important role in the development of diabetes, a key finding that could lead to new treatments for the disease, including the potential for stem cell-based therapies. Read More