NEW DELHI – In twin developments, an Indian patent office rejected U.S.-based Gilead Sciences Inc.'s patent application for its blockbuster hepatitis C virus (HCV) drug Sovaldi (sofosbuvir), leaving the door open for low-cost generic versions of a drug that is currently out of reach of most Indian patients. However, the court also granted regulatory approval for the drug, making India the first Asian country to do so. Read More
SHANGHAI – Hua Medicine Ltd. has received a nice endorsement from China's life science investors a month before the country's Spring Festival, closing $25 million in series B financing from some of the leading bio-focused venture capital firms, Frontline Bioventures and TF Capital. The latest financing was led by Ally Bridge Group, with all series A investors – Arch, Venrock, Fidelity, Wuxi Ventures and SAIL – chipping in for a second time. Read More
HONG KONG — The characteristic symptoms of Alzheimer's disease (AD) can be reduced in mice when sugars are prevented from binding to one of the key enzymes implicated in the disease, clearing the way to a new treatment approach, according to researchers from the Riken-Max Planck Joint Research Center in Japan. Read More
SHANGHAI – Claiming a world-first, Chinese researchers have treated a spinal cord injury patient using a collagen scaffold loaded with mesenchymal stem cells in a trial to test the safety and efficacy of the procedure. Read More
HONG KONG – Diversified traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) maker Guangzhou Baiyunshan Pharmaceutical Holdings (HK:0874, SH:600332) plans to raise as much as $1.6 billion through a private sale of new shares to be traded in Mainland China. Read More
HONG KONG – A Korean clinical-stage biotech company that focuses on monoclonal antibodies (MAbs) has inked a second deal in two months with its Chinese partner. Read More
Mundipharma International Corp. Ltd., of Singapore, announced its planned distribution of Medifoam in China starting early 2015, marking a key milestone in the company's plan to rapidly expand the wound dressing product's reach in East Asia and South East Asia. Read More
Astellas Pharma Inc., of Tokyo, named Eric Terhaerdt senior vice president of global development operations, and assigned him to Northbrook, Ill., office. Read More
