HONG KONG – Hutchison China Meditech Ltd.'s (Chi-Med) is preparing for the next step after surufatinib achieved its primary endpoint in a phase III SANET-ep study in extra-pancreatic advanced neuroendocrine tumors (NETs) in China. Read More
CEO Mark McKenna told BioWorld Asia that San Diego-based Prometheus Biosciences Inc. has "cracked the code" in inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) – progress underscored by the firm's deal with Takeda Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd., of Osaka, Japan, which brings an undisclosed up-front payment and as much as $420 million more if development, regulatory and commercial milestones are reached in three programs. Read More
HONG KONG – South Korea's Chong Kun Dang (CKD) Pharmaceutical Corp. received approval for its novel erythropoiesis stimulating protein (NESP) biosimilar from Japan's Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare (MHLW). The drug (CKD-1110) is world's first NESP biosimilar to treat anemia. Read More
WASHINGTON – Hot on the heels of July's FDA approval of Recarbrio (imipenem, cilastatin and relebactam) in complicated urinary tract infections (cUTIs), Merck & Co. Inc. rolled out pivotal phase III data at the Infectious Disease Society of America's IDWeek 2019 that could support expanding its label to another high-need group, people with hospital-acquired or ventilator-associated bacterial pneumonia (HABP/VABP). Read More
HONG KONG – South Korean biotech Bioleaders Co. Ltd., headquartered in Yong-in city, Gyeonggi-do, and Israel's Weizmann Institute of Science, based in Rehovot, recently founded a joint venture in Israel. With the new entity, they will accelerate the R&D of a Weizmann-developed approach targeting p53, a strong tumor suppressor that has proved difficult to drug. Read More
HONG KONG – Taiwan's National Health Insurance Administration has added Gilead Sciences Inc.'s Biktarvy (bictegravir + emtricitabine + tenofovir alafenamide), a once-daily single tablet for the treatment of adults with HIV-1, to its list of reimbursed medicines. Read More
HONG KONG – I-Mab Biopharma (Shanghai) Co. Ltd. has received IND approval from China's National Medical Products Administration (NMPA) for its CD73 antibody, getting the go-ahead for a phase I/II trial of TJD-5 in patients with advanced solid tumors. Read More
Astellas Pharma Inc., of Tokyo, plans to invest $12.5 million in two innovation incubators operated by Cambridge, Mass.-based Labcentral, which specializes in biotech startups. Read More
Mitsubishi Tanabe Pharma America Corp., of Jersey City, N.J., a wholly owned subsidiary of Osaka, Japan-based Mitsubishi Tanabe Pharma Corp., appointed Gustavo A. Suarez Zambrano vice president of medical affairs. Read More
HONG KONG – Singapore's Aslan Pharmaceuticals Ltd. and South Korea's Bukwang Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd. have jointly established a new company dedicated to the development of aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AhR) drug candidates. Named Jaguahr Therapeutics Pte. Ltd. – the unusual spelling a clear reference to "AhR" – it will be based in Singapore and will focus on developing immuno-oncology therapeutics for global markets based on the preclinical AhR antagonists in Aslan's early stage pipeline. Read More
