HONG KONG – Chinese clinical-stage biotech Connect Biopharmaceuticals Ltd., of Suzhou, secured $55 million in a series B financing to move forward its two lead drug candidates, CBP-307 for treating ulcerative colitis and Crohn's disease and CBP-201 for treating atopic dermatitis, to the next stage. Read More
HONG KONG - Chinese clinical-stage biotech Antengene Corp. raised $120 million in series B financing to move forward its lead programs, ATG-008 and ATG-010 (selinexor), for treating blood cancer and liver cancer, respectively. Read More
The analysis of biopharma dealmaking trends by Clarivate Analytics at last year's J.P. Morgan Healthcare Conference (JPM) suggested the industry would continue to evolve rapidly as targeted therapies reshuffled the oncology space and other broad therapeutic areas – especially neuroscience and anti-infectives – faced clinical and financial headwinds. The challenge going forward, concluded Laura Vitez, commercial insights manager with Cortellis, and Jamie Munro, global practice leader, portfolio and licensing, both of Clarivate Analytics, was to generate value from deals in the face of rising costs for drug development, pushback on pricing and a shift in focus from M&A to other types of business development (BD). Read More
HONG KONG – China bioprocessing technology firm Hangzhou Just Biotherapeutics Ltd. (HJB) and clinical-stage biotech Mabspace Biosciences Co. Ltd. have entered a merger agreement to establish a biotherapeutics maker, Transcenta Holding Ltd., with the aim of shortening the time from target to biologics license applications, and setting up a next-generation GMP facility that supports the development and commercialization of molecules both in-house and from its partners. Read More
HONG KONG – South Korean biotech company Samsung Bioepis Co. Ltd. has entered a licensing agreement with China's 3Sbio Inc. to expand its biosimilars business to mainland China. The agreement covers multiple biosimilar candidates from the Incheon-based Samsung Bioepis, including SB-8, a biosimilar to blockbuster anti-VEGF antibody Avastin (bevacizumab, Genentech Inc./Roche Holding AG) that is undergoing phase III trials. Read More
HONG KONG - Immuno-oncology company Ziopharm Oncology Inc. and cell therapy company Triarm Therapeutics Ltd. are set to establish a joint venture (JV), Eden Biocell Ltd., to develop and commercialize CAR T therapies targeting CD19 antigen in the greater China region and South Korea, with the use of a technology platform named Sleeping Beauty. Read More
HONG KONG – GNT Pharma Co. Ltd., of Yongin City, South Korea, has finished the patient enrollment for a phase II trial of its multitarget neuroprotection candidate, Neu-2000, in China, with top-line results from the trial, known as ENIS, expected in the first half of this year. Read More
Recursion Pharmaceuticals Inc., of Salt Lake City, said Takeda Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd., of Osaka, Japan, exercised its option for drug candidates in two rare disease from early results in the companies' October 2017 collaboration using Recursion's AI-fueled expertise. Read More
