Astellas Pharma US Inc., of Northbrook, Ill., part of Astellas Pharma Inc., of Tokyo, appointed John Demaree vice president, oncology marketing, Astellas Americas. Demaree will lead Astellas' oncology marketing team in promotion of in-market products, preparation for new oncology product launches and strategic planning and collaboration with the company's partner organizations in the Americas region. Read More

Changzhou Fangyuan Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd., of Changzhou, China, said it is the new site of the Chinese Academy of Engineering Wang Guangji Academic Workstation, which plans to sign a strategic cooperation agreement with the pharma and the China State Institute of Pharmaceutical Industry to develop aminoglycosides, antibacterial agents designed to reduce the side effects of antibiotics on the body. Fangyuan Pharma said its R&D team developed a preparation process for the generic drug, arbekacin sulfate, which is expected to go into production in 2018. Read More

DURBAN, South Africa – Name a persistent disease that is hard to detect and measure, that can come back after it looks like you've beat it, and that should be controlled by the immune system but isn't. Read More

JERUSALEM – Marking a pivotal moment in the growing relationship between China and Israel, the biggest pharma licensing agreement between the two countries recently took another step forward. Jerusalem-based Oramed Pharmaceuticals Inc. received the first milestone payment from its license and investment agreement with Hefei Tianhui Incubator of Technologies Co. Ltd. (HTIT), of Hefei, China. Read More

HONG KONG – A collaborative study by U.S. and Chinese researchers has identified an immune system component responsible for the homeostatic control of innate immune responses to nosocomial invasive candidiasis, which represents a potential target that may lead to the development of treatments for the fungal infection. Read More

HONG KONG – A decade after the U.S. launch, Glaxosmithkline plc's (GSK) Cervarix vaccine to prevent the human papillomavirus (HPV) is in the home stretch to launch as the first HPV vaccine in Mainland China. Read More