HONG KONG — The cyclin-dependent kinase (CDK) 4/6 pathway inhibitor, ribociclib (LEE011, Novartis AG), in combination with Femara (letrozole, Novartis AG), significantly improved progression-free survival (PFS) in postmenopausal Asian women with advanced breast cancer, in a subanalysis of the MONALEESA-2 trial. Read More

Living Cell Technologies Ltd., of Sydney, completed treatment of all six patients in group two of the phase IIb trial of Ntcell for Parkinson's disease. Four patients had 80 Ntcell microcapsules implanted into the putamen on each side of their brain, and two patients had sham surgery with no Ntcell implanted. To date, there are no safety issues in any of the six patients. The first five patients in the group were treated between Nov. 12 and 19. Read More

SHANGHAI – Newly founded biopharma Harbour Biomed Therapeutics Ltd., of Shanghai, has acquired privately held Harbour Antibody BV, of Cambridge, Mass. The cash-and-equity deal was inked after Harbour Biomed secured $50 million in venture financing from life science investors Adventech and Legend. Read More

NEW DELHI – Indian pharmaceutical companies will continue to grow through acquisitions of overseas assets in the next 18 to 24 months, with the aim of deepening their geographic and product diversity and increasing their presence in developed and emerging markets, according to a recent report by Moody's Analytics. Read More

HONG KONG – Pfizer Inc. said its FDA breakthrough-designated breast cancer drug, Ibrance (palbociclib), could have a significant impact in Asia, based on a subanalysis in Asian women from a phase III trial, showing that the combination of Ibrance and letrozole significantly extended progression-free survival (PFS) by more than 11 months compared with letrozole plus placebo. Read More