Astellas Pharma Inc., of Tokyo, appointed David Musselman area vice president, sales, primary care and specialty – East, and Lynn Gerber area vice president, sales, primary care and specialty – West. They will be responsible for leading the company's primary care and specialty sales teams in the U.S. Musselman has nearly 20 years of pharmaceutical sales experience. Most recently, he served as director, regional accounts East at Astellas where he led a team of regional account managers responsible for products in the company's oncology, urology, transplant and antifungal franchises. Gerber began her career at Astellas in 2003 and has more than 25 years of pharmaceutical industry experience. Prior to her new role, she served as area vice president, sales, primary care and specialty – East. Read More

Accera Inc., of Boulder, Colo., and Duchembio Co. Ltd., of Seoul, South Korea, said they entered a strategic partnership and exclusive licensing agreement in which Duchembio will obtain rights to develop, obtain regulatory approval and commercialize products in South Korea using Accera's medium chain triglyceride technology. Financial terms were not disclosed. Read More

The structure of the human brain's cannabinoid receptor 1 (CB1), which binds to the main psychoactive ingredient in marijuana, delta 9-tetrahydrocannabinol (D9-THC), has been elucidated by Chinese researchers, which could have major implications for drug discovery and development. Read More

PERTH, Australia – Dimerix Ltd. reported positive phase IIa data with its lead program, DMX-200, in chronic kidney disease. The dose-escalation trial met the primary endpoints of safety and tolerability, and it met secondary efficacy endpoints with 25 percent of patients achieving a greater than 50 percent reduction in proteinuria, which is over and above the standard of care, CEO Kathy Harrison told investors during a conference call last Thursday. Read More

HONG KONG – Cstone Pharmaceuticals Co. Ltd. has received the go-ahead from the CFDA to conduct clinical trials with its investigational agent, CS-1001, making it the first company in China to successfully have a fully human, full-length anti-PD-L1 monoclonal antibody enter clinical development. Read More

HONG KONG – After more than a decade of development, Maryland-based Tissuegene Inc. and its Asia licensee, Kolon Life Science Inc., received a bittersweet go-ahead from the South Korean authorities to market gene therapy drug Invossa-K. Read More