Deals and Financings

• South Korea’s SK Biopharma in-licensed global rights to a radiopharmaceutical compound developed by Full-Life Technologies of Shanghai in a $571 million deal;
• Beijing Biocytogen will use its RenLite® platform to discover novel antibody therapeutics for SOTIO Biotech of Prague in a $325 agreement;
• Beijing’s Sino Biological, a biological research reagents/CRO company, completed a $48 million takeover of Vancouver’s SignalChem, a company that offers bioactive enzymes;
• AusperBio, a Hangzhou-San Francisco biotech, booked $37 million in a Series A financing for its novel oligonucleotide and targeted delivery technologies;
• Shanghai’s Rona Therapeutics, a nucleic acid drug R&D company, completed a $35 million Series A+ financing to advance its pipeline of RNA candidates;
• Shanghai's Elpiscience has filed for a Hong Kong IPO to develop drugs for tumor microenvironments that are aimed at improving the efficacy of immunotherapies;
• Legend Biotech, a Nanjing-New Jersey cell therapy company, was rumored to have received a takeover bid, though its parent, GenScript, claims not to know anything about the offer;

Trials and Approvals

• Shanghai’s Everest reported China's NMPA accepted the filing of a supplemental NDA for full approval of Nefecon®, a first-in-disease IgA nephropathy therapy;
• Fujirebio Diagnostics, a global medical diagnostics company, will have access to samples from Alzheimer’s patients in a Phase III trial of an AirBio therapy for AD.
  
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Deals and Financings

• China’s Foreseen Biotechnology out-licensed global rights for an ADC candidate with a novel target to France’s Ipsen in a deal potentially worth over $1 billion;
• Sichuan Biokin Pharma, whose subsidiary SystImmune out-licensed an ADC to BMS in an $8.4 billion deal, will stage a Hong Kong IPO that is expected to raise $500 million;
• Chengdu’s Keymed Biosciences out-licensed global rights (ex-China) for a pair of bispecific candidates to Belenos Biosciences in a $185 million agreement;
• South Korea’s Genexine will merge with EPD Bio, a company with a novel targeted protein degradation (TPD) technology, for 16% of Genexine’s stock worth $180 million;

CRO/CMO News

• The Biosecure Act is back in the news after US Speaker of the House, Mike Johnson vowed to pass the bill before the end of the year;
• Shanghai Sanyou Bio, a biologics CRO, will offer a proprietary generative AI antibody drug design platform developed by BioGeometry of Beijing;

Trials and Approvals

• AusperBio, a Hangzhou-Boston biotech, reported its antisense oligonucleotide that targets all HBV mRNA has now treated 193 participants in global and China trials;
• Zhiyi Biotech of Guangzhou, a company developing live biotherapeutic products, said its product for Chemotherapy-induced Diarrhea (CID) was well-tolerated in a US trial;
• Chengdu Hinova Pharma received US FDA Fast Track designation for an investigational drug targeting Androgen-receptor positive triple-negative breast cancer.
  
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Deals and Financings

• Samsung Biologics, a Korean CDMO, signed a $1.06 billion agreement to provide biologic manufacturing services for an unnamed US pharma, its largest contract ever;
• Takeda has made the initial $100 million payment to option global rights (ex-China) for olverembatinib from Ascentage Pharma in a deal that includes $1.2 billion in milestones;
• Japan’s Eisai regained global rights to its ADC targeting the FRα protein after BMS dropped out of their partnership; Eisai gets to keep BMS's $450 million upfront payment;
• IASO Bio will acquire Innovent’s share of the rights to their jointly developed BCMA CAR-T therapy in exchange for an 18% share of IASO;
• Harvest Integrated Research Organization, a US-China clinical stage CRO, acquired DeltaMed Solutions, a New Jersey CRO offering late-stage services to biopharmas;
• Shanghai Hasten Biopharma has acquired rights in eight Asia countries (outside Mainland China) to 14 branded products developed by Celltrion of Korea;

Trials and Approvals

• Taiwan’s Tanvex BioPharma was approved to launch a filgrastim biosimilar in the US to treat neutropenia induced by cancer chemotherapy.
  
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Deals and Financings

• Shanghai Henlius Biotech, the biologics arm of Fosun Pharma, agreed to be a wholly owned subsidiary of Fosun in a $690 million deal that values the company at $1.7 billion;
• Suzhou Ascentage Pharma filed to list in the US to support its portfolio of drugs that restore natural cell aging; in 2019; the company staged an IPO in Hong Kong;
• CASI Pharmaceuticals received a $40 million take-private offer for its China operations from the company’s Chairman and CEO, Dr. Wei-Wu He;
• Hong Kong King-Friend Industry bought global rights to Yusimry®, a Humira® biosimilar, from Coherus BioSciences of Redwood City, CA for $40 million upfront;
• Korea’s AprilBio out-licensed worldwide rights for its IL-18 targeted fusion protein to Evommune, a Palo Alto biopharma focused on chronic inflammatory diseases;

Trials and Approvals

• Novo Nordisk was approved to launch Wegovy, one of its two GLP-1 drugs, in China for long-term weight management in obese and overweight people;
• Nanjing Simcere Zaiming, an oncology subsidiary of Simcere, announced China’s NMPA approved Enlituo® for RAS/BRAF wild-type metastatic colorectal cancer;
• Innovent Biologics reported its GLP-1R/GCGR dual agonist caused weight loss in a China Phase III trial and also reduced liver fat in obese and overweight patients;
• Beijing Gan & Lee, a diabetes drug specialist, said its GLP-1 receptor agonist showed impressive weight loss in a China Phase Ib/IIa trial;
• Wuhan iRegene was approved to begin US trials of its novel chemically induced allogeneic cell therapy product as a treatment for Parkinson's Disease.
  
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Deals and Financings

• FutureGen Biopharm (Beijing) out-licensed global rights to its TL1A antibody for inflammatory bowel disease to AbbVie in a $1.7 billion agreement;
• Shanghai MabCare sold global rights (ex-China) for its PTK7 ADC to Day One Biopharma of San Francisco for $55 million upfront and $1.15 billion in milestones;
• Decheng Capital of Shanghai announced plans to raise $700 million for a global life sciences fund, its fifth life sciences vehicle;
• Shanghai Fosun Pharma, which paid $1.1 billion in 2017 for a 58% holding in India’s Gland Pharma, sold a 5% stake in the company for $172 million;
• Ronovo Surgical, a Shanghai company, closed a $44 million round to commercialize its modular robotic system for soft tissue procedures, the Carina™ Platform;
• Baltimore’s Rapafusyn Pharma, a molecular glue company, extended its Series A financing to $28 million from China investors;
• Shanghai’s YolTech out-licensed China manufacturing and sales rights for its proprietary DNA editor, YolCas12TM, to KACTUS, also a Shanghai company;
• Two China RNA companies, Starna Therapeutics of Suzhou and Guangzhou’s Recorna Bio, will collaborate to discover novel therapies for lung diseases;

Trials and Approvals

• Clover Biopharma, a vaccine biotech, reported positive data from a Phase I trial of its bivalent prefusion-stabilized F (PreF)-Trimer subunit vaccine candidate for RSV;
• Shanghai Asieris Pharma said its collaboration with ReviR Therapeutics identified a novel lead series of small molecules that modulate an oncogenic driver gene.
  
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