The Australian government is investing AU$1.89 billion (US$1.25 billion) in what it is calling a “once-in-a generation transformation” of health and medical research in Australia with $1.4 billion tagged for new research for the Medical Research Future Fund. Read More
China and U.S. biotech Jacobio Pharmaceuticals Group Co. Ltd.’s shares (HKEX:1167) rose nearly 20% after it filed an NDA in China on May 6 for its independently developed KRAS G12C inhibitor, glecirasib (JAB-21822), to treat lung cancer. Read More
Novartis Pharma AG continues to build up its radiopharmaceutical powerhouse and has expanded a peptide discovery collaboration with Peptidream Inc. in a deal worth up to $2.71 billion. Under the multi-program agreement, Kawasaki, Japan-based Peptidream will use its peptide discovery platform system technology to identify and optimize novel macrocyclic peptides against targets selected by Novartis for potential conjugation to radioligand therapies or other applications for both therapeutic and diagnostic purposes. Read More
The use of psychedelics is seeing impressive results in treating psychiatric disorders like treatment-resistant depression and post-traumatic stress disorder, and Mindbio Therapeutics Ltd. is expanding the field to include microdoses of lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD) to treat depression and premenstrual syndrome. Read More
Japanese researchers have transplanted human induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) in a primate model of myocardial infarction and were able to restore heart muscle and function in monkeys. Developed by Tokyo-based Heartseed Inc., the grafted iPSCs consist of clusters of purified heart muscle cells (cardiomyocyte spheroids) that are injected into the myocardial layer of the heart. Published in Circulation on April 26, 2024, the study showed that the cardiomyocyte spheroids survived long term and showed improved contractile function with low occurrence of post-transplant arrhythmias. Read More
South Korea’s HK Inno.N Corp. said on May 2 that it gained exclusive development and commercial rights to Hangzhou, China-based Sciwind Biosciences Co. Ltd.’s once-weekly, injectable glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) agonist, XW-003 (ecnoglutide), in South Korea to treat type 2 diabetes and obesity. Read More
As Poseida Therapeutics Inc. anticipates reporting further data this year from allogeneic CAR T-cell therapy P-MUC1C-ALLO1, for which Astellas Pharma Inc. has nabbed first negotiation rights, the two companies inked a second deal aimed at combining their respective cell therapy platforms in an early stage collaboration targeting solid tumors. Read More
Australia is poised to play a leading role in the rise of the global radiopharmaceutical industry, as advanced therapies drive significant investment and rapid expansion, according to a new discussion paper from industry accelerator Mtpconnect. Read More
Despite what University of Pennsylvania (Penn) immunotherapy pioneer Carl June referred to as a “cold slap last November” – a launched investigation by the U.S. FDA into a possible link between CAR T-cell immunotherapies and secondary cancers – new unpublished studies by Penn and Stanford University highlight the rarity of such cases. Read More
The recent cyberattack on Change Healthcare, a part of the Unitedhealth Group, crippled reimbursement claims processing for thousands of providers for several weeks and potentially exposed troves of patient data. Congressional committees are investigating the attack, its scope, and Unitedhealth’s response. Please take a few minutes to fill out this short survey to help BioWorld understand how your company is responding to these threats. You can click through to the questions here. Read More
BioWorld Managing Editor Karen Carey joins the podcast to talk about the numbers from the first quarter of 2024, along with a look back at some 2023 deals and indicators that signal better times are on the way. Financings for the quarter were better than expected, sporting some of the best numbers of the past 13 years. It’s part of a larger trend, Carey says, of investors being a lot pickier about where they put their money and demanding better data. The result is a strengthened market and a better outlook. Read More
Clinical updates from Asia, including trial initiations, enrollment status and data readouts and publications: Astrazeneca, Bio-gene, Foresee, Hanall, Immutep, Recce. Read More
Biopharma happenings in Asia-Pacific including deals and partnerships, grants, preclinical data and other news in brief: Akili, ARS, CSL, Shionogi. Read More
Regulatory snapshots, including drug submissions and approvals, clinical trial approvals and other regulatory decisions and designations in Asia-Pacific: Aribio, Eluminex, Ena Respiratory, Ingenium, Nanjing Leads, Shenshen Chipscreen. Read More
