HONG KONG – South Korean pharmaceutical and biotech companies have been given new guidelines on how to treat research and development spending in their accounting, a move expected to remove uncertainties related to R&D's impacts on companies' return on assets and return on invested capital. Read More
Months after inking an agreement with GC Labcell (GCLC), Canadian startup Feldan Therapeutics Inc. pocketed $12.5 million in a series A financing led by parent company GC Holdings Corp., the recently rebranded Korean conglomerate that also houses GC Pharma, formerly Green Cross Corp. Participants in the round included South Korea's Stonebridge Ventures and Anges Québec Capital and members – a previous seed investor – along with undisclosed existing investors. Feldan, based in Québec City, is developing therapies based on its peptide-based intracellular delivery technology, dubbed the Feldan Shuttle. Read More
PERTH, Australia – Biotron Ltd. is crunching the data from a recently concluded phase II trial in HIV-1 that tested its lead compound BIT-225 in combination with antiretroviral (ARV) drugs, and the Melbourne-based company said it believes its approach to tackling viruses like HIV could wipe out the virus completely, Biotron CEO Michelle Miller told BioWorld Asia. Read More
PERTH, Australia – The Australian government's Medical Technology, Biotechnology and Pharmaceutical Industry Growth Center (MTPConnect) launched a new node in Western Australia to support the state's burgeoning life sciences sector, and it is continuing to build up skill sets in the country to prepare for future needs. Read More
PERTH, Australia – Australian stem cell therapy company Mesoblast Ltd. is on its way to filing a BLA for its allogeneic mesenchymal precursor cell therapy, after it showed strong survival rates in children with acute steroid-refractory graft-vs.-host disease (aGVHD) at six months. Read More
HONG KONG – China's Zhejiang Hisun Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd. said results of two key phase III trials for HS-25, a cholesterol absorption inhibitor that targets hyperlipoproteinemia, showed both met the standard 12-week descent rate of low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C), while adverse drug reactions were minor. In the next one to two months, the company is expected to apply to the National Medical Products Administration (NMPA), China's FDA, for marketing clearance. Read More
Astellas Pharma US Inc., of Northbrook, Ill., affiliate of Tokyo-based Astellas Pharma Inc., appointed Geoff Towle vice president, oncology marketing, Astellas US. Previously, Towle served as senior director, oncology marketing at Astellas, where he led the development of brand strategies, messaging and tactics for Xtandi. Prior to joining the company, Towle served in a variety of positions at Abbott Laboratories Inc. (now Abbvie Inc.). Read More
