NEW DELHI – India plans to set up a new National Centre for Drug Discovery from Natural Products and strengthen its infrastructure and regulatory support for drugs trials, all part of its second national biotechnology research strategy unveiled recently. Read More

SHANGHAI – Canbridge Life Sciences Inc. has confirmed the existence of ligand CD95 in Chinese glioblastoma patients after completing the first such biomarker study of its kind on the mainland. The study demonstrated a high degree of CD95 ligand expression consistency between geographically diverse Chinese and Western glioblastoma multiforme patients. Read More

SAN FRANCISCO – While many of China's biopharmaceutical company executives flew across the Pacific for the J.P. Morgan Healthcare Conference, they kicked off the week with the Bayhelix 13th Annual Conference, a confab of China's best and brightest. The group's founding members were ambitious China-born scientists and managers working in the U.S. looking for camaraderie. Today, they are leaders in the field, heading up their own well-financed biopharma, med tech, service and investment companies. Read More

HONG KONG – Looking to further its innovative efforts in drug development, pharma major Johnson & Johnson has partnered with Chinese liver disease expert Chia Tai Tianqing Pharmaceutical Group Co. Ltd. (CTTQ), as well as a score of other external companies. Read More

SHANGHAI – Zai Labs Ltd., of Shanghai, has done it again, this time raising more than $100 million from seasoned health care venture firms led by Advantech Capital and Orbimed. The trio of Zai's series A backers – Qiming Ventures, Sequoia and TF Capital – also continued their support in this second round. Read More