SHANGHAI – High-flying CAR T developer, Kite Pharma Inc., of Santa Monica, Calif., is making a push into China and Japan. A pair of deals – Shanghai Fosun Pharmaceutical (Group) Co. Ltd. and Daiichi-Sankyo Co. Inc. – features lead asset, KTE-C19, an anti-CD19 chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell therapy for which the company is on track to submit a BLA to the FDA later this year. Read More
Takeda Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd. is leading a $125 million investment in Maverick Therapeutics Inc., a company founded with initial financing from MPM Capital that is working to improve the utility of T-cell redirection therapy for the treatment of cancer. The financing, encompassing both equity investment and R&D funding, provides Takeda an exclusive option to buy the company after five years for an undisclosed amount. Read More
HONG KONG – The sentencing of a former CFDA official to a prison term may be a sign that the country is getting serious about tightening supervision of its vaccine products. Read More
HONG KONG – A study by Japanese researchers has identified two promising and selective candidate therapeutic targets that could prove important in the development of new treatments aimed at overcoming drug resistance in melanoma. Read More
HONG KONG – The largest Chinese acquisition to date of a North American drugmaker – last week's $820 million acquisition of Dendreon Corp. by Sanpower Group Co. Ltd. – underscores the growing importance of Chinese financing in the global drug development market. Read More
SAN FRANCISCO – The networking was lively and the outlook optimistic as the Chinese-American Bio/Pharmaceutical Society (CABS) conducted its second Investor Forum in conjunction with the 35th Annual J.P. Morgan (JPM) Healthcare Conference in San Francisco. With Chinese investments in U.S. businesses topping $15 billion last year – a record – the question on everyone's mind was whether direct investment in U.S. biotech and life sciences will continue to grow in the face of China's inward-facing currency pressures. Despite obvious challenges, most participants expressed confidence that U.S.-Asia cross-border investment has gathered momentum that isn't likely to hit reverse in 2017. Read More
