Deals and Financings

• Adlai Nortye, a Hangzhou-New Jersey immunoncology biopharma, completed a $97.5 million IPO on the NASDAQ exchange, trading 33% lower on its first day;
• Nanjing Triastek closed a $20 million Pre-C financing round to support its 3D printing process for complex drug delivery and programmed release medications;
• Hangzhou Qihan Biotech raised $16 million in a pre-B funding for its gene-edited stem cell products, including a lead product for CD19-positive B-cell non-Hodgkin lymphoma;
• Shanghai’s I-Mab announced AbbVie will end its $2 billion partnership with I-Mab, returning all rights for a CD47 antibody drug candidate;

Trials and Approvals

• Yantai RemeGen reported positive results from a Phase III trial of Telitacicept, the company’s autoimmune drug, as a therapy that targets two cell-signaling molecules for rheumatoid arthritis;
• Shanghai AffaMed will begin China Phase III trials of Risuteganib, its first-in-class injectable ophthalmic intravitreal candidate for dry age-related macular degeneration;
• BioCity, a Wuxi, China biotech, will start a China Phase Ib/II trial of its TIM-3 mAb together with AstraZeneca's approved anti-PD-L1 for advanced liver cancer;
• Suzhou Gracell Biotech said its dual targeting CAR-T cell therapy for multiple myeloma produced a 100% overall response rate and a 100% minimal residual disease rate;
• Hangzhou Ascletis Pharma has enrolled the first 120 patients in the China Phase III trial of ASC40 combined with bevacizumab to treat recurrent glioblastoma;
• Elpiscience, a Shanghai-Suzhou oncology immunotherapy company, has dosed the first patient in an Australian Phase I trial of an anti-LILRB2 monoclonal antibody.
  
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Adlai Nortye (NSDQ: ANL), a Hangzhou-New Jersey immunoncology biopharma, completed a $97.5 million IPO on the NASDAQ exchange, consisting of $57.5 million from the public offering and $40 million in a concurrent private placement. Founded in 2016, Adlai Nortye has three candidates in clinical trials and three pre-clinical stage assets. The company’s lead drug, buparlisib, is an oral pan-PI3K inhibitor currently in a global Phase III clinical trial for head and neck squamous cell carcinoma. Adlai Nortye’s shares were priced at $23 per ADS in the offering, but they are trading at $16.90, a loss of 27%. More details....

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BioCity Biopharma, headquartered in Wuxi, China, will conduct a China Phase Ib/II trial of its BC3402, a mAb targeting the T cell immunoglobulin and mucin domain-containing protein 3 (TIM-3), together with AstraZeneca's approved anti-PD-L1, Imfinzi (durvalumab). The trial will enroll patients with advanced hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). BioCity believes BC3402 has the potential to be a best-in-class anti-TIM-3 mAb because it binds to multiple TIM-3 epitopes with a higher binding affinity than similar candidates. BioCity develops differentiated therapeutics for cancer and autoimmune disorders including chronic kidney diseases. More details....

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Nanjing Triastek closed a $20 million Pre-C financing round to support development of its 3D printing process for complex drug delivery and programmed release medications. The company’s proprietary technology, the Melt Extrusion Deposition (MED®) 3D printing process, combined with digital formulation development techniques, have been put to use to create timed release drugs. Triastek is also developing new technology including Semi-Solid Extrusion, Micro-Injection Molding, and Micro-Droplet Jetting to deliver and develop oral peptides, gastric retention and high potency products. The round was led by Guoxin Investment. More details....

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Shanghai AffaMed will begin China Phase III trials of Risuteganib (luminate®), its first-in-class injectable ophthalmic intravitreal candidate for intermediate dry age-related macular degeneration (Dry AMD). Luminate® is a first-in-class integrin regulator that regulates multiple pathways of oxidative stress response, including mitochondrial dysfunction, which contributes to intermediate Dry AMD. In 2021, AffaMed acquired greater China rights (including manufacturing) to the candidate from South Korea’s Hanmi Pharma in a $145 million agreement. AffaMed believes AM011 will be the first product in China to start Phase III development for Dry AMD. More details....

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