DUBLIN – Boehringer Ingelheim GmbH is bringing another drug mechanism to bear on nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH), by exercising an option to in-license PXS4728A, a dual semicarbazide-sensitive amine oxidase/vascular adhesion protein-1 (SSAO/VAP-1) inhibitor from Pharmaxis Ltd. for €27.5 million (US$31.4 million) up front with about $570 million more to come in milestones. Read More

NEW DELHI – With three new vaccines in the pipeline over the next two years – for viruses that are common in developing tropical countries – India-based Bharat Biotech International Ltd. (BBIL) continues to pursue its defining mantra of a $1-a-dose vaccine that is within the reach of people in poor countries. Read More

SHANGHAI – Fast on the heels of a major financing round in November, Beigene Co. has raised $97 million in financing, enough cash to continue to aggressively push its deep pipeline of immuno-oncology candidates in the clinic not only in China, but in global trials as well. Read More

Shares of Orexigen Therapeutics Inc. continued to fall Wednesday amid a tangle of negative headlines following the decision to terminate the ongoing cardiovascular outcomes trial (CVOT) for obesity drug Contrave (naltrexone and bupropion), as clinical investigators criticized the company’s early release of data and partner Takeda Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd. launched a formal dispute process seeking, among other changes, to shift more of the financial responsibility for the cost of a new CVOT to Orexigen. Read More

HONG KONG – With a focus on developing treatments for ocular fibrosis and inflammation, a new Australian biopharmaceutical company Occurx Pty Ltd. launched yesterday with A$6.5 million (US$5.2 million) in funds from a consortium that includes the Medical Research Commercialization Fund (MRCF), Brandon Capital Partners and Uniseed. Read More

Sinovac Biotech Ltd., of Beijing, said it received site inspection notification for the commercial production facilities of its EV71 vaccine candidate from the CFDA. Read More