AstraZeneca in-licensed a preclinical small molecule lipoprotein (a) (Lp(a)) disruptor from China’s CSPC Pharma. Lp(a) is similar to low-density lipoprotein (LDL), the “bad cholesterol.”  It is a type of fat in the blood that carries cholesterol, causing arterial blockages similar to low-density lipoprotein (LDL). Lp(a) hasn’t been a drug target until recently. CSPC will receive a $100 million upfront payment and could receive up to $1.9 billion in milestones plus tiered royalties. More details....

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Tokyo’s Astellas Pharma signed an option to acquire global rights for a neurology gene therapy from AviadoBio of London. The candidate, AVB-101, is an AAV-based gene therapy currently in a Phase I/II trial for patients with a frontotemporal dementia with mutations in progranulin (FTD-GRN). Astellas will invest $20 million in AviadoBio and pay $30 million in upfront payments to acquire the option. If the option is exercised, AviadoBio is eligible for up to $2.2 billion in license fees and milestones plus royalties.More details....

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• Regor Pharma, a Shanghai-Boston biotech, received $850 million upfront from Genentech for global rights to two early-stage CDK inhibitors aimed at breast cancer;
• Kailera Therapeutics launched with a four-drug pipeline from Hengrui aimed at obesity; Keilera was formed by four US VCs who funded the startup with an initial $400 million;
• Caliway Biopharma staged a record-high IPO for a biotech company on the Taiwan Exchange, raising $206 million at a $3 billion valuation for its targeted weight loss candidate;
• Flagship Pioneering, a Cambridge, MA company, formed a collaboration with Singapore’s A*STAR to back new Singapore-based health companies;
• Hong Kong’s GenEditBio received a strategic investment from Gobi Partners GBA to develop affordable "precision DNA surgery" gene therapies for genetic diseases.
  
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Caliway Biopharmaceuticals IPO’d on the Taiwan Exchange (TWSE-6919) to support its portfolio of medical aesthetic and inflammatory disease candidates. The listing, which valued the company at nearly $3 billion, raised $206 million. It is a record for the largest IPO of a biopharma company in Taiwan’s history. Caliway is ready to start Phase III trials of its lead product, CBL-514, an injection that induces adipocyte apoptosis to reduce subcutaneous fat in targeted areas. More details....

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Flagship Pioneering, a Cambridge, MA company, and Singapore’s A*STAR formed a collaboration to back new Singapore-based health and sustainability companies. In a MOU, the two companies agreed to contribute a total of US$77 million over five years, with the goal of creating new companies in Singapore. Flagship, a combination of startup and venture capitalist, forms its own companies with its own capital. The process starts with a “farfetched” question that sometimes becomes a company if the concept seems viable. Flagship supports the young company initially but expects other VCs to fund later development. More details....

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