NEW DELHI – India is taking a multipronged approach to developing and distributing vaccines against COVID-19, with at least 10 different products under development, domestically or through collaborations with foreign developers. Vaccinations are likely to begin early next year but, with a population of around 1.2 billion, it is unlikely India will be able to vaccinate everybody it needs to before the end of 2022. Read More
LONDON – The COVAX initiative, set up in a bid to ensure equitable distribution of COVID-19 vaccines, is poised for a global rollout starting in Q1 2021, after sealing agreements to access 2 billion doses of a number of different products. That puts the world on a clear pathway to ending the acute phase of the pandemic, by protecting the most vulnerable people around the world, according to GAVI, the vaccines alliance, which is spearheading COVAX. Read More
An evolving COVID-19 treatment paradigm may have foiled Mesoblast Ltd.’s phase III with remestemcel-L in ventilator-dependent patients with moderate to severe acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS), CEO Silviu Itescu said, but hope remains in pediatric steroid-refractory acute graft-vs.-host disease (GVHD). Read More
Shares in Chinese drug developer Jacobio Pharmaceuticals Group Co. Ltd. (HK:1167) rose 3% on their first day of trading in Hong Kong. The company, which develops small-molecule drug candidates to modulate enzymes by binding to their allosteric sites, raised HK$1.35 billion (US$174.1 million) in its IPO, pricing 96 million shares at HK$14. Shares closed at HK$14.42 on Dec. 21 after rising as high as HK$16.50. Read More
HONG KONG – Shanghai Junshi Biosciences Co. Ltd.’s toripalimab has reached its prespecified primary endpoint of progression-free survival at the interim analysis of a phase III study in non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC), as efforts to expand approval of the anti-PD-1 antibody into other cancer types are underway. Read More
HONG KONG – Hummingbird Bioscience Pte. Ltd. is collaborating with artificial intelligence (AI) company Tempus Labs Inc. to advance HMBD-001, a differentiated anti-HER3 neutralizing antibody developed using Hummingbird's Rational Antibody Discovery platform, into clinical trials in HER3-driven cancers. Read More
HONG KONG – Peptidream Inc. inked a research collaboration with Amolyt Pharma SAS to test and optimize Peptidream’s growth hormone receptor antagonist (GHRA) peptides, with the aim of selecting a candidate to develop as a potential treatment for acromegaly. Read More
Amsterdam-based Uniqure NV’s regulatory hitch with its highly regarded hemophilia B program had analysts questioning during a conference call what the development might mean for the company’s deal with CSL Ltd. Read More
Biopharmas in Asia-Pacific raising money in public or private financings, including: Clarity, HBM, Junshi, Phathom, Revitope Oncology, Sellas Life Sciences, Takeda. Read More
Regulatory snapshots, including drug submissions and approvals, clinical trial approvals and other regulatory decisions and designations in Asia-Pacific, including: Antengene, Biontech, Canbridge, Daiichi Sankyo, Esperion, Lumosa, Pfizer, Synairgen, Takeda. Read More
