Hansoh Pharmaceutical Group Co. Ltd. has acquired greater China rights to oncology candidate NKT-2152 from Nikang Therapeutics Inc. in a deal worth up to $218 million. Jiangsu, China-based Hansoh picked up exclusive rights to develop and commercialize the candidate in mainland China, Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan. In turn, Nikang is eligible to receive $15 million up-front cash payment, as well as up to $203 million in potential development, regulatory and sales-based milestone payments, and tiered royalties. Read More
Connect Biopharma Holdings Ltd. pointed to positive secondary endpoint data and a numerical trend on the primary endpoint in favor of its S1P receptor modulator, CBP-307, in ulcerative colitis, but those results weren’t enough to keep the stock (NASDAQ:CNTB) from falling by more than 57% to close at 82 cents, as investors focused on the primary endpoint miss and the company’s decision to partner the program going forward. Read More
Beigene Ltd. reported that its global phase III trial of PD-1 inhibitor tislelizumab in combination with chemotherapy met the primary endpoint of overall survival in first-line advanced esophageal cancer. Read More
Askgene Pharma Inc., which less than two weeks ago reported positive initial data from an ongoing phase I/II trial testing its claudin 18.2-targeting candidate, ASKB-589, added $20 million in a series A round, intended to advance the company’s clinical pipeline and support further development of its Smartkine cytokine drug platform. Read More
Juniper Biologics Pte. Ltd. has added another candidate to its pipeline in the space of less than a month. In the latest deal, the Singapore-based company inked an exclusive licensing agreement with Switzerland’s Helsinn Healthcare SA, gaining rights to develop and commercialize oncology drug infigratinib in Australia, New Zealand, Southeast Asia and certain markets in the Middle East and Africa. Read More
As the American Society of Clinical Oncology meeting nears, presenters are talking up their prospects, including Biomea Fusion Inc. with early data from experiments testing BMF-219, an oral, irreversible covalent menin inhibitor – one in an intriguing class that has sparked efforts by various developers. Read More
For the first time since the early weeks of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, global deaths caused by the disease have fallen to their lowest point, as immunity against the SARS-CoV-2 virus and its variants continues to build. Infections and deaths appear to be decelerating, an optimistic sign that the pandemic may be nearing an end. Read More
IPOs continue to be sluggish but two companies, Pepgen Inc. and Bausch & Lomb Corp., that began trading May 6 managed to sidestep the turbulence despite having to lower their expectations before the market opened. Read More
There are 40 years of history behind the development of phosphoinositide 3-kinase (PI3K) inhibitors, Rebecca Dent told her audience at ESMO Breast Cancer 2022. And there have been success stories. There are five FDA-approved PI3K inhibitors in several cancer types, and in April, the FDA approved Vijoice (alpelisib; Novartis AG) for PIK3CA-related overgrowth spectrum, a rare disorder resulting from germline mutations of PIK3CA. Read More
A proposal hammered out by the EU, India, South Africa and the U.S. to allow IP waivers for COVID-19 vaccines is headed to all members of the World Trade Organization (WTO) for consideration. Read More
Clinical updates from Asia, including trial initiations, enrollment status and data readouts and publications: Acelyrin, Affibody, Arcturus, Bavarian Nordic, Clinuvel, Compass, Connect, Elpiscience, Immutep, Inmagene, Kintor, KVK-Tech, Paradigm, Sen-Jam, Sorrento, Telix, Valneva. Read More
Biopharma happenings in Asia-Pacific, such as deals and partnerships, grants, preclinical data and other news in brief: Betta, Botanix, Brickell, Brii, Cannvalate, Clover, Eyepoint, Hansoh, Helsinn, Insilico Medicine, Jemincare, Juniper Biologics, Lanova Medicines, Microba Life Sciences, Nikang, Olix, Orion, Storm, Tetra, Turning Point. Read More
Regulatory snapshots, including drug submissions and approvals, clinical trial approvals and other regulatory decisions and designations in Asia-Pacific: Agastiya, Aptose, Aribio, Astrazeneca, Beigene, Coherus, Daiichi Sankyo, Hutchmed, Jiangsu Recbio Technology, Johnson & Johnson, Junshi, Moderna, Newsoara, Novavax, Palisade, Very, Vopec. Read More
