Recent Articles

Insilico Medicine, an AI drug discovery-development company based in Hong Kong and New York, has completed an initial filing for a Hong Kong IPO. Insilico has developed several platforms that use generative AI to analyze biology, chemistry and clinical trials for next-gen AI systems. Formed in 2014, Insilico develops products for its own portfolio and out-licenses other candidates, while retaining their intellectual property. Two years ago, the company bragged that it needed only 30 months to move its lead drug from discovery to clinical trials at a cost of $2.5 million. More details....

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Yantal’s RemeGen was granted Fast Track Designation in the US for its novel BLyS/APRIL dual-target fusion protein candidate for primary Sjögren's syndrome (pSS). The candidate, telitacicept, is designed to inhibit the overexpression of two cytokines, B-cell lymphocyte stimulator (BLyS) and a proliferation-inducing ligand (APRIL). RemeGen says the two-pronged approach prevents abnormal differentiation and maturation of B-cells, treating various autoimmune diseases mediated by B-cells. A Phase III clinical trial for this indication is currently underway in China. Telitacicept was approved to start US trials in late 2023. More details....

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ProfoundBio, a Seattle ADC company with an R&D facility in Suzhou, will be acquired by Copenhagen’s Genmab A/S in a $1.8 billion all-cash deal. The acquisition will expand Genmab’s drug portfolio, including three ProfoundBio clinical stage ADC candidates for solid tumors. The company’s three clinical stage assets target ovarian cancer and other FRα-expressing solid tumors. A privately owned company, ProfoundBio raised $112 million in a B Round financing earlier this year. ProfoundBio is led by CEO Baiteng Zhao, a former associate director at Seagen, a Seattle ADC company that was acquired by Pfizer for $43 billion in 2023. More details....

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Jiangsu Ractigen Therapeutics dosed the first patient in a Phase I trial of its lead candidate, a small activating RNA (saRNA) therapy for non-muscle invasive bladder cancer (NMIBC). RAG-01 is a novel saRNA medication that activates the p21 tumor suppressor gene to treat NMIBC. The trial, being conducted in Australia by GenesisCare, will enroll NMIBC patients who have failed Bacillus Calmette-Guérin (BCG) therapy. Ractigen develops saRNA drugs using RNA to up-regulate endogenous gene expression and restore normal protein functions. More details....

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Suzhou’s Innovent Biologics and HutchMed of Shanghai filed an NDA in China for a combination therapy aimed at advanced endometrial cancer. The trial tested Innovent’s sintilimab, an approved PD-1 immunoglobulin G4 mAb, and HutchMed’s fruquintinib, an approved VEGFR inhibitor. The NDA seeks China approval of the combination for advanced endometrial cancer company with pMMR[1] or non-MSI-H[2] tumors that have failed a prior systemic therapy. Patients must not be candidates for curative surgery or radiation. China’s National Medical Products Administration will review the application under Priority rules. More details....

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