Hanmi Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd., of Kyungkido, South Korea, and Access Pharmaceuticals Inc., of New York, entered an exclusive license agreement related to Mugard commercialization in South Korea. Under the terms, Access will receive an up-front licensing fee and double-digit royalties on net sales of Mugard in the licensed territory. Mugard is an oral mucoadhesive that is designed to manage oral mucositis by forming a protective hydrogel coating over the oral mucosa to shield the membranes of the mouth and tongue. Terms were not disclosed. Read More

SHANGHAI – The Center for Drug Evaluation (CDE) of the China Food and Drug Administration (CFDA) has released its annual report for 2013 which reveals only small gains have been made to fix the slow and overcrowded approval process. Read More

HONG KONG – Chinese scientists have developed a human liver cancer cell line that replicates the entire life cycle of both the hepatitis B and hepatitis C viruses, providing a powerful tool with which to study the natural history of these pathogens and help in developing new antivirals and vaccines. Read More

TAIPEI, TAIWAN – Neurovive Pharmaceutical AB’s Hong Kong-registered subsidiary, Neurovive Pharmaceutical Asia Ltd., has signed a financial services agreement with Yuanta Securities Co. Ltd. for the Taiwanese company to be its underwriter in a planned initial public offering (IPO) in Taiwan. Read More

HONG KONG – Crystalgenomics Inc. released positive phase III clinical trial results for its non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID) polmacoxib for osteoarthritis. Read More