China’s National Medical Products Administration has given the thumbs up to Akeso Pharmaceuticals Inc.’s ebdarokimab for treating moderate to severe plaque psoriasis in adults. An interleukin (IL)-12/IL-23 dual-targeted monoclonal antibody, ebdarokimab (also known as AK-101) is the company's first class 1 new drug approved for autoimmune diseases. Read More
Antibody-drug conjugate developer Duality Biotherapeutics Inc. debuted on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange (HKEX) with a HK$1.64 billion (US$211.4 million) IPO April 15, making it one of the biggest offerings made under the HKEX’s Chapter 18A listing regime since 2020. Read More
Telix Pharmaceuticals Ltd.’s glioblastoma theranostic, TLX-101, is showing promising overall survival in a phase II trial in recurrent high-grade glioma. The targeted radiation therapy, combined with external beam radiation therapy, demonstrated a median overall survival of 12.4 months from treatment initiation and 32.2 months from initial diagnosis. The results significantly outperform the 9.9-month median survival typically observed with radiation therapy alone in recurrent glioblastoma patients. Read More
China’s National Medical Products Administration (NMPA) has accepted Innocare Pharma Ltd.’s NDA for its second-generation pan-tropomyosin receptor kinase inhibitor, zurletrectinib (ICP-723), for treating adults and adolescents with advanced solid tumors harboring neurotrophic tyrosine receptor kinase gene fusions. Read More
The Abu Dhabi health care company M42 is to make an investment in U.K.-based longevity specialist Juvenescence as a route to moving into drug discovery and development, with the two forming a partnership to work together on products that extend the healthy lifespan and improve the treatment of chronic diseases. Read More
After more than three years of discussion, the World Health Organization’s Intergovernmental Negotiating Body (INB) has agreed on a proposal to prevent, prepare and respond to a pandemic. The plan is born, the INB proposal said, out of inequities around the world that slowed timely and equitable access to health products to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic. Read More
First quarter earnings reports from Johnson & Johnson and Abbott Laboratories provided some surprising insights into the likely hit med-tech companies will sustain with current tariffs. The main takeaway? The impact of the trade war with China is far greater than expected by most analysts. Read More
Genes associated with lysosomal dysfunction increase the risk of Parkinson’s disease (PD), according to a study led by scientists at Northwestern University. The discovery also explains why some people who carry a pathogenic variant of the GBA1 gene develop PD or dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB) and others do not. The key lies in the Commander complex, involved in the transport of proteins to this organelle. This discovery raises the need for combinatorial therapies that act on more than one pathway for this type of neurodegenerative disorder. Read More
Biopharma deal value declined in the first three months of 2025 compared to the previous quarter, but remained above the 2024 quarterly average of $57.63 billion. In the first quarter (Q1), biopharma deals totaled $66.86 billion across 330 transactions, a decrease from $80.65 billion in Q4 2024, which saw 372 deals. However, this was a significant value increase from Q1 2024, when deals amounted to $44.32 billion across 376 transactions. Read More
As pharma deals with the impact of U.S. NIH grant cuts and the imposition of tariffs, a lot of pressure is shifting to smaller and midcap companies, according to two executives who spoke on the newest BioWorld Insider podcast. Read More
Biopharma happenings in Asia-Pacific including deals and partnerships, grants, preclinical data and other news in brief: Biocon Biologics, Cellino Biotech, Daiichi Sankyo, Elix, Karis, Prism Biolab, Rege Nephro, Regeneron, Syros, Wayfinder. Read More
Regulatory snapshots, including drug submissions and approvals, clinical trial approvals and other regulatory decisions and designations in Asia-Pacific: Bioarctic, Celltrion, Innocare. Read More
