Clarivate Analytics Chief Scientific Officer Richard Harrison told BioWorld Asia that the record number of would-be blockbusters in the firm's "Drugs to Watch" report for 2018 signals that "changes the industry made 10 years ago are really starting to pay off." Read More

PERTH, Australia – Pharmaceutical companies wanting to submit new drug applications in Australia now have additional pathways thanks to new drug legislation aimed at speeding access to therapies. Read More

HONG KONG – After a successful phase II study, Beyondspring Inc.'s plinabulin is set to enter the phase III global trial known as Study 105 to test the drug's efficacy in preventing chemotherapy-induced neutropenia (CIN) associated with docetaxel. Read More

Sun Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd., the Mumbai, India-based pharma giant known more for its footprint in generics than in novel drug development, gained FDA approval of Ilumya (tildrakizumab-asmn) to treat adults with moderate to severe plaque psoriasis who are candidates for systemic therapy or phototherapy. Read More

HONG KONG – Ever since the Hong Kong Stock Exchange (HKEX) announced plans to welcome pre-revenue biopharmaceutical startups, interest in going public here has spiked among early stage firms across Greater China. Listing in Hong Kong would open an avenue to new funds raised through this major stock market. Read More

HONG KONG – South Korea is looking to artificial intelligence (AI) to spearhead drug development in hopes of catching up with its Western peers and securing a stronger foothold in the global market. Read More

HONG KONG – Travecta Therapeutics Pte Ltd. is the latest startup to join Singapore's biotech block. The newly formed drug discovery company is based on intellectual property derived from discoveries made at Duke-NUS Medical School (Duke-NUS). Read More

Immutep Ltd., of Sydney, dosed the first patient in a new cohort of the phase I Two Active Immunotherapies in Melanoma (TACTI-mel) trial testing eftilagimod alpha (IMP321) with Keytruda (pembrolizumab, Merck & Co. Inc.). The additional cohort will enroll six patients who will be treated with 30 mg of eftilagimod, which is an antigen-presenting cell activator, starting at the first cycle of Keytruda for up to 12 months. Immutep plans to release data for some cohorts of the TACTI-mel trial in the middle of this year. Read More