With positive news flow on clinical development, Array Biopharma Inc. stayed busy on the partnering front, selecting Ono Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd. to license, develop and commercialize its late-stage oncology compounds, binimetinib and encorafenib, in Japan and South Korea. Array is set to receive $31.6 million (¥3.5 billion) up front and is entitled to another $156 million (¥17.3 billion) in development, regulatory and commercial milestone payments. Read More
ZHUHAI, China – Attendees at what has become one of Asia's most important annual partnering meetings heard multinational company and local biopharma execs talk optimistically about positive changes the CFDA proposed just weeks ago, which promise to open the doors to China's market for novel drugs. Read More
Prima Biomed Ltd., of Sydney, appointed Salah-Eddin Al-Batran; David Cameron, Luc Dirix, and Samson Fung to its new clinical advisory board (CAB), and named Martine Piccart chair. The CAB will advise Prima on the regulatory and clinical development strategy for its Active Immunotherapy PAClitaxel, or AIPAC, clinical trial, which is investigating the safety and efficacy of IMP321 active immunotherapy in combination with paclitaxel chemotherapy in those with hormone receptor-positive metastatic breast cancer. Read More
OBI Pharma Inc., of Taipei, Taiwan, said it entered an agreement with Threshold Pharmaceuticals Inc., of South San Francisco, to acquire TH-3424, a small-molecule prodrug that selectively targets cancers overexpressing the enzyme aldo-keto reductase 1c3 (AKR1C3), and the product will be renamed OBI-3424. AKR1C3 overexpression has been documented in a number of treatment-resistant and difficult to treat cancers, including hepatocellular carcinomas (HCC), and OBI-3424 has demonstrated potent activities in preclinical models of HCC, including a model resistant to the standard-of-care treatment, Nexavar (sorafenib, Bayer AG). Read More
Early cancer detection company Grail Inc. will merge with Hong Kong-based competitor Cirina Ltd. in an effort to boost its scientific efforts, as well as to better serve Asian markets. Financial details were undisclosed. Cirina was founded in 2014 by Dennis Lo, the first scientist to discover the presence of fetal DNA in the plasma of the pregnant mother, and Decheng Capital. Read More
A new Chinese study's findings suggest Adriamycin-based chemotherapy may simulate cancer stem cells (CSCs) through transcription factor signaling activation, but that such signaling is inhibited by statins. Reported in the May 25, 2017, online edition of Stem Cell Reports, the results may be important in designing new osteosarcoma treatment regimens. Read More
NEW DELHI – India's national drug regulator has stopped individual state drug regulators from independently issuing manufacturing licenses to companies that have not acquired prior manufacturing approval from the Drug Controller General of India. Read More
ZHUHAI, China – When attending the ChinaBio Partnering Forum, there are a few options for how to spend the time: go to one-on-one meetings, take in a few panels, or dip in and out of a marathon of 15-minute company presentations. The first day is reserved for biotech presentations, while day two is dominated by multinational biopharmas. Read More
