Otsuka Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd., of Tokyo, reported data from the 48-week ART trial at the Digestive Disease Week (DDW) meeting, showed that remission and response rates were 37.2 percent and 53.2 percent respectively at week 12, in patients with moderate-to-severe, steroid-dependent active ulcerative colitis (UC) with insufficient response or intolerance to immunosuppressants and/or biologics when treated with between five and eight sessions with Adacolumn. Read More

Oncolys Biopharma Inc. joined the ranks of dealmakers in the oncolytic virus therapeutic space, given a boost by last year’s FDA go-ahead for the first agent, Imlygic (talimogene laherparepvec) for melanoma from Amgen Inc. Read More

SHANGHAI – Sorrento Therapeutics Inc., of San Diego, reported that STI-004 proved to be safe and efficacious in both adult and adolescent patients suffering from allergic asthma when compared to placebo, successfully completing a combined phase II/III study in China. Read More

SHANGHAI – Established in 2005, Beike Biotechnology Co. Ltd., of Shenzhen, is one of China’s pioneering stem cell providers and until just a few years ago was very active at treating patients with stem cells. But when the rules changed in 2012 forbidding charging patients for stem cell treatments, Beike had to do some strategic business model retooling. Read More

BEIJING – China has been referencing FDA and EMA drug regulations along with developing its own versions. While it has a long way to go in terms of the number of regulations and the maturity of regulatory regime, the CFDA wants any new regulations to be tailored specifically for the country’s market and to generate tangible benefits for the domestic industry. Read More

HONG KONG – The in vivo antileukemic efficacy and safety of a novel combination of apoptosis-regulating drugs seen in a recent study by Australian researchers suggests that inhibition of apoptosis and activation of another type of cell death, necroptosis, warrants clinical investigation as a treatment for acute myeloid leukemia (AML). Read More

TOKYO – Fintech Global Capital LLC (FGC), a Japanese venture fund, is looking to raise about $50 million this year, mainly from institutional investors, to be spent on biotech companies in 2017. Read More

SUZHOU, China – Two common themes ran throughout the Chinabio Partnering Forum: an improving Chinese regulatory environment and an increasing number of innovators and multinational corporations looking for cross-border partnerships. Read More

SUZHOU, China – At the Chinabio Partnering Forum, a panel of leading Chinese biopharma founders and executives discussed the future of immuno-oncology in China to a packed room in Suzhou, a biotech hub a short distance from Shanghai. The speakers were cautiously optimistic about China’s future in this hot new category of cancer treatment, artfully skirting around direct mention of the government’s recent ban on immunotherapy following a scandal involving a patient who died after receiving DC-CIK treatment. Read More

SUZHOU, China – Snapping smartphone pictures of pharmaceutical company slides, entrepreneurs listened intently last week in a packed audience attending 15-minute presentations of business development executives looking for innovative products, not only in the Asia-Pacific region, but globally. Read More

SHANGHAI – Dozens of Chinese biopharmas have entered the CAR T race, but Shanghai-based Innovative Cellular Therapeutics Co. Ltd. (ICT), also known as Sidansai in Chinese, is angling to be the front-runner. Read More

HONG KONG – As part of its efforts to continue reforming China’s medical system, the National Health and Family Planning Commission (NHFPC) slashed the price of three top-selling drugs of both foreign and domestic companies by more than half. Read More