RuiYi Inc., a San Diego-Shanghai biotech, signed an exclusive license with Genor BioPharma of Shanghai to develop RuiYi’s lead molecule in China; RuiYi also enlisted CMC Biologics to develop a cell line for RYI-008; Vectura, a UK maker of inhaled therapies, established a China respiratory JV with two partners: Tianjin KingYork and Zendex Bio Strategy; SciClone Pharma in-licensed China rights to a heart failure drug from Zensun (Shanghai) Science & Technology; WuXi PharmaTech released positive financial results and candidly discussed the performance of its business units; Amgen, which has not had a major presence in China, is now making good on its promise to use partnerships to establish itself; and BioDuro opened a new CRO laboratory in Shanghai, complementing its existing facility in Beijing. More details…..

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Sagent Pharma, a US generic injectible drugmaker, will pay $25 million to acquire its partner’s 50% interest in a China manufacturing JV; ScinoPharm Taiwan and Coland Holdings formed a partnership to bring generic oncology drugs to mainland China; Zhejiang Huahai Pharma joined with Oncobiologics to develop and make biosimilars of four popular drugs; Hutchison Chi-Med will out-license global rights to a novel small-cell cancer drug this year; Zhejiang Beta Pharma and Amgen will form a JV to commercialize an Amgen cancer drug; Beijing Leadman Biochemistry will be the exclusive distributor in China for Immunodiagnostic Systems Holdings’ diagnostic tests; Teva Pharma, which does not have a substantial presence in China, considers its products a natural fit for China’s market; and Greg Scott, president of ChinaBio, pointed out that China partners are essential for western pharmas: “In China, unless you have deep resources, it is difficult to come and do everything yourself,” he said. More details….

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Shanghai Fosun Pharma, Chindex and a private equity partner will spend $240 million to buy a 95.6% stake in Alma Lasers, an Israeli medical device company; Ascletis, a China-US drug developer, in-licensed China rights to a next-generation HIV protease inhibitor from Janssen R&D Ireland; Zhejiang Huahai Pharma raised $126 million in a secondary offering to help pay for a new $240 million manufacturing facility; 3SBio rescheduled the vote on its controversial take-private offer for May 24, 2013; Richard Soll, PhD, of WuXi AppTec, said WuXi considers all its clients as partners no matter how the business relationship is structured; OrbusNeich, a Hong Kong cardiovascular device maker, won a German patent suit over stent technology against Boston Scientific; Li Ka-Shing, the richest man in Asia, gave $31 million to Oxford University in England to fund a new drug discovery and healthcare delivery institute; and China’s Ministry of Finance allocated $48.6 million in an effort to control the spread of the H7N9 avian flu. More details....

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Syros Pharmaceuticals of Boston raised $30 million to develop cancer treatments from WuXi PharmaTech and other investors; a subsidiary of Hua Han Bio-Pharma signed a framework agreement to set up a JV with China’s National Vaccine & Serum Institute; Tasly Pharma paid $240 million to acquire Jiangsu TaslyDiyi Pharma, a maker of chemical drugs; 3SBio received a much-higher offer from the consortium that is offering to take the company private, though the consortium is alleged to have discouraged other bids; Takeda and Sanofi agreed to co-promote Takeda’s Alogliptin, a DPP-4 treatment for type 2 diabetes, in China; Eisai announced plans to build a second production facility in Suzhou; and China scientists used lasers as optical tweezers to pick apart a blockage in the capillaries of a mouse ear, cell by cell. More details….

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Ascletis will collaborate with Roche to develop Roche’s hepatitis C virus drug in China; Thermo Fisher acquired Life Technologies, pitching the transaction as an attractive combination for Asian markets; the Zongyi Group of China invested $8.6 million in ContraFect Corporation, a New York biotech; Wuhan Kindstar Diagnostics, a testing service for China hospitals, will collaborate with Illumina; Cipla launched a biosimilar version of the arthritis treatment Enbrel in India, which it sources from Shanghai CP Guojian; Suzhou Ascepion Pharma said Debiopharm of Switzerland will support further China development of a cancer treatment; Eddingpharm and Chiesi Farmaceutici formed a JV to market two of Chiesi’s asthma drugs in China; Merck opened its new $120 million drug packaging facility in Hangzhou; Injex Pharma of Germany received SFDA approval to market its INJEX30 needle-free injection system in China for insulin; Shenzhen Chipscreen Biosciences’ lymphoma treatment met its primary endpoint in a Phase II trial; and a subsidiary of Inner Mongolia Furui Medical was given FDA 510(k) approval to market its liver fibrosis device in the US. More details….

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Eli Lilly’s animal health division, Elanco, will pay $100 million to buy a 20% stake in China Animal Healthcare Ltd.; OriGene Technologies acquired the assets of SDIX, an antibody maker, for $16 million; Tong Ren Tang plans to IPO a subsidiary, TRT Chinese Medicine, on the ChiNext exchange in Q2; the National Center for Drug Screening of China and PerkinElmer will collaborate to validate new diagnostic tests for diabetes in Asian populations; Eddingpharm will market and distribute Tykerb, a GlaxoSmithKline breast cancer drug, in China; China issued its expanded 2012 Essential Drug List along with a directive telling local governments to consider quality – not just price – when choosing drug suppliers; the US FDA asked for $4.7 million to carry out inspections of China pharmas that export to the US during fiscal year 2014; and China’s SFDA will fast-track approvals of peramivir, a flu treatment, in response to the bird flu outbreak. More details….

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Sanofi is actively seeking China M&A opportunities in the consumer healthcare and veterinary products sectors, according to the company’s CEO; Jiangsu Hengrui Medicine in-licensed China rights to a novel antibody from X-Body Biosciences of the US; Sanofi Pasteur will fund research at China’s Xiamen University aimed at developing a universal flu vaccine; Baxter’s China division announced a program with China officials to bring home-based kidney dialysis to China’s rural areas; China NT Pharma Group signed a MOU with Sinopharm to form a JV that will market and sell vaccines; Hangzhou Nurotron Biotech has developed a cochlear implant at half the current price; and a new strain of bird flu, H7N9, in China has mobilized the CDC. More details…..

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Sinopharm Group raised $515 million to fund its growth in the China drug distribution sector by selling new shares, adding to the $640 million it raised in bonds earlier this month; SK Biopharma of South Korea will collaborate with two China companies to develop its novel CNS drug; Weihai Weigao Medical Devices will distribute TriReme Medical’s portfolio of cardiovascular devices; China’s Ministry of Health issued a new essential medicine list with 520 products, up from 307 in the 2009 list; General Electric Healthcare will double production of its medical imaging devices in China; Agenix of Australia expects to file a China clinical trial application for its hepatitis B drug candidate by June; Life Technologies received SFDA approval of an Applied Biosystems sequencer while its JV with Daan Gene develops 10 diagnostic assays for use on the machine; and Cellular Biomed started a China clinical trial of a personalized treatment for liver cancer. More details….

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In an exclusive ChinaBio® Today interview, Dr. Jun Wang, CEO of BGI, said the sequencing company is “dream-driven,” always seeking to fulfill the promise of genomic science; BGI closed its $118 million acquisition of US-based Complete Genomics last week; Roche Holding stepped up as one of the bidders for lab equipment-maker Life Technologies; Hony Capital will support Simcere’s $506 million management-led privatization offer; OriGene of Maryland raised $21.3 million in a funding led by two China-focused venture funds; BGI and H3 Biomedicine of Cambridge will collaborate to sequence pre-clinical cancer models; Lilly officially opened the Lilly Global IT Innovations Lab in Dalian; Taiwan Liposome’s innovative liver cancer drug was accepted into the SFDA’s Green Path program; Amoy Diagnostics, a Xiamen IVD company, was OK’d to market a test for genetic abnormalities that affect lung cancer treatment; and Antisense of Australia will have Pharmaron conduct a toxicology study of its multiple sclerosis drug candidate. More details….

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Simcere Pharma, like many US-listed China biopharmas, has received a go-private offer from management, an offer that values Simcere at $503 million; Shanghai Pharma paid $72 million to purchase an additional 20% stake in Chiatai Qingchunbao Pharma, a Hangzhou maker of TCM products; New Jersey-based Catalent Pharma made two transactions that will increase its presence in China; Domain Associates formed a partnership with Elite Consulting, a consultant service for China life science, which will bring western products to China; Pathwork Diagnostics of California will collaborate with Kindstar to provide Pathwork’s cancer IVD kits in China; China has given the SFDA responsibility for monitoring the safety of the nation’s food supply; Sinovac Biotech reported positive top-line data from the Phase III clinical trial for its hand, foot and mouth vaccine; and BravoBio, a Shanghai vaccine startup, was named the 2013 BioSpectrum Asia Pacific Emerging Company of the Year. More details….

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