Race Oncology Ltd., of Victoria, Australia, completed a placement of about 9.9 million shares priced at A32 cents (US25 cents) apiece for gross proceeds of about A$3.2 million. In addition to operational funding, proceeds will be used to fund manufacturing of Bisantrene for U.S. registrational trials and for expansion of the named patient program.  Read More

SHANGHAI – Two-year-old Engine Biosciences Pte Ltd., a startup with an artificial intelligence (AI) platform approach to drug discovery, recently received a $10 million endorsement from Chinese and U.S. investors. Engine is one of a growing number of AI-first, data-driven biotechs that are plying the latest advances in machine learning to the complex task of understanding human biology to find new medicines. Read More

HONG KONG – Scientists at the Diabetes Research Institute (DRI) at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine have for the first time confirmed the existence of human pancreatic progenitor cells and have shown they can be induced to develop into glucose-responsive pancreatic beta cells. Read More

PERTH, Australia – Australia is launching an online "innovation showcase" that aims to catalogue and track the progress of innovations in the pharmaceutical, medical technology and digital health space across Australia in real time on a public platform open to investors, health practitioners and the public. Read More

HYDERABAD, India – India's drug regulator is working to launch this month a new unit that would facilitate access to regulatory information and, hopefully, shore up the willingness of Indian drug companies to take more risks. Read More

AMSTERDAM – As the Chinese ecosystem continues to evolve with an increasing focus on innovative drugs and a rapidly changing regulatory environment, American and European biopharma executives have kept a keen but wary eye on the possibilities. Read More

A new joint development program testing Eisai Co. Ltd.'s Lenvima (lenvatinib mesylate), an oral tyrosine kinase inhibitor, both alone and together with Merck & Co. Inc.'s anti-PD-1 therapy, Keytruda (pembrolizumab), across a dozen cancers could yield a multibillion-dollar payout for the Tokyo-based company while opening up new markets for both partners. The far-reaching deal completes a triplet of immuno-oncology-focused bets by Merck following earlier tie-ups with Astrazeneca plc last year and Ablynx NV in 2015. Read More

Trogarzo (ibalizumab-uiyk) became the first HIV treatment with a new mechanism of action in more than a decade to gain FDA approval. The CD4-directed post-attachment HIV-1 inhibitor, developed by Theratechnologies Inc., of Montreal, and partner Taimed Biologics Inc., of Taiwan, China, gained the nod in combination with other antiretroviral treatments (ARTs) to treat HIV-1 infection in adults with multidrug-resistant HIV-1 infection who failed an existing ART regimen. Read More