SHANGHAI – Six months after London-based Glaxosmithkline plc officially apologized to the Chinese government for bribing non-government personnel, a GSK spokesperson confirmed to BioWorld Asia that more than 100 employees have left the China office for violating the company's code of conduct. Read More
SHANGHAI – A trans-Pacific biotech – with labs in Zhangjiang Hi-tech Park in Shanghai, and offices in Hayward, Calif. – Micurx Pharmaceuticals Inc., has commenced enrollment for its U.S. phase II trial for MRX-1, an antibiotic to combat drug-resistant infections. Read More
HONG KONG – New antibiotic agents are urgently needed to overcome the burgeoning problem of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) in infectious bacteria, but novel agents alone may not be sufficient to prevent a return to the dark days of the pre-antimicrobial era, an infectious disease specialist has warned. Read More
HONG KONG – Paving the way for further growth of a $2 billion sector, the CFDA has published final regulatory guidelines for biosimilars. Included are standards for research, development and evaluation. Most importantly, the CFDA also gave clear instruction on the pathway, categorization and application material needed for biosimilar registrations. Read More
Sucampo Pharmaceuticals Inc. is returning to R-Tech Ueno Ltd. all licenses for the eye drug unoprostone isopropyl in the wake of a phase III study in which the drug failed to meet its primary endpoint of improving mean retinal sensitivity in people with retinitis pigmentosa (RP) vs. placebo with statistical significance. Read More
HONG KONG – Starting March 5, Japan's regulator suspended a subsidiary of Novartis AG from manufacturing or selling drugs, citing a string of unreported negative side effects patients suffered after using the company's drugs. Read More
Hutchison Medipharma Ltd. (HMP), of Shanghai,, a unit of Hutchison China Meditech Ltd., said it completed enrollment in a phase II study of fruquintinib (HMPL-013) in non-small-cell lung cancer patients in China. The double-blind, placebo-controlled, proof-of-concept study is investigating the efficacy and safety of fruquintinib, HMP's investigational small-molecule inhibitor of vascular endothelial growth factor receptors. Read More
Twi Pharmaceuticals Inc., of Taipei, Taiwan, appointed Tina Guilder president and CEO, and she will continue as president of Twi Pharmaceuticals USA, its subsidiary. The company named Calvin Chen special advisor to Guilder and he will remain president of Twi Biotechnology Inc. Read More
