Trump Tariffs – Indian Pharma Dodges Bullet, But Sword Still Hangs?

 
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Trump announced a 26% reciprocal tariff on India but a country-agnostic exemption of pharmaceuticals implies that the interests of Indian firms and the US consumer are protected for now. What is Indian pharma’s business exposure and what is domestic industry saying?

Hengrui Renews Global Phase III Push As China Players Plan Pivotal Multinational Trials

 

After a more than three-year hiatus, China's Hengrui has signalled its return to multiregional Phase III trials as it looks to globalize its innovative pipeline. Meanwhile, a number of other Chinese players have announced plans to kick off Phase III trials this year and beyond.

Sumitomo Offloads Asia Pharma Ops To Marubeni For $480m

 
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The latest in a long line of restructuring measures will see Sumitomo Pharma making a stepped sale of its pharma operations in Asia to major Japanese trading house Marubeni.

How Big Pharma Is Redefining, Scaling India GCCs Amid Tech Advances

 

Senior executives from AstraZeneca, BMS, Novo Nordisk, Takeda and Regeneron outline how big pharma's global capability centers (GCCs) in India are evolving beyond cost efficiency, focusing on innovation, “agile experimentation” and new technology including GenAI, virtual & augmented reality, with some positioned as COEs. Will Indian multinationals use the GCC approach?


Asia Deal Watch: Dr. Reddy’s Gets Regional Rights To Pair Of Bio-Thera Biosimilars

 

Plus deals involving GV20/Mitsubishi Tanabe, Kaken/Alumis, AstraZeneca/Alteogen and deal terminations involving Clover/Gavi Alliance and Rhythm/RareStone.

RemeGen Fast-Tracks Potential World-First BLys/APRIL Agent For gMG In Global Phase III Trial

 

RemeGen is planning to complete enrolment in the global Phase III RemeMG study with telitacicept in generalized myasthenia gravis by the end of 2025 or early 2026. The Chinese firm has already sidelined two other global Phase III trials with the molecule to prioritize the indication.

Japan T-Reg Venture RegCell Raises New Funds, Relocates To US

 
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Kyoto-based venture moves HQ to California to expand R&D and business outreach for its regulatory T-cell technology, as it raises around $46m in public and private funding.

Generative AI In Drug Discovery And India’s Potential To Leapfrog

 
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Heads of Novartis Biomedical, World Economic Forum and Indian majors like Sun Pharma’s SPARC, among others, discuss generative AI in drug discovery along with pointers for India to leapfrog the R&D process


Mounjaro In India: Price Differential, Window Of Opportunity

 

Lilly’s Mounjaro arrives in India, with the 2.5mg vial priced at under $41 in a market that has over 100 million diabetics and increasing obesity rates. Will the product see sharp demand like in China, carving out a chunk of the pie ahead of the potential arrival of semaglutide generics and could there be concerns of ‘suitcase' exports?

LigaChem Eyes Future Acquisition Of IKSUDA Following 26.6% Stake

 
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South Korea's LigaChem is kickstarting a growth and globalization drive through a potential future acquisition of UK ADC player IKSUDA.

Profile: Anil Koul’s Journey From ‘Jumping Genes’ To Sirturo And AI-Led Drug Discovery

 

Professor Anil Koul shares vignettes of his life and career trajectory, a captivating mix of hope, science and destiny that took him to the lab of eminent cancer biologist Alex Ullrich at the Max Planck Institute and also saw him contribute to the development of breakthrough TB drug bedaquiline. He also talks about Medicine 3.0 and the intersection of science and spirituality.

AstraZeneca Expands Emphasis On China, Already A Key Market

 
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UK pharma will invest $2.5bn in Beijing R&D hub, build a vaccine manufacturing site with BioKangtai, and partner in chronic disease with Syneron and in oncology/immunology with Harbour BioMed.


Korea Needs To Think Bigger On M&As: KHIDI

 

A new report from a domestic institute on South Korea’s biopharma M&A trends shows a pickup in activity, but that this remains relatively weak and small-scale. It calls for broader domestic government support to build expertise, drive innovation and globalization.

How Miltenyi Hopes To Help Shape India’s CGT Landscape

 

Miltenyi’s leadership calls for a streamlined regulatory framework as India gears to scale in cell and gene therapy. Executives from the German group also talked to Scrip about helping advance local capabilities, delivering point-of-care CAR- T cell therapy to hospitals and pricing dynamics.

Amgen’s Research VP On Goldilocks Viscosity, AI’s Hinge Moment

 
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Amgen’s AI model to predict proteins in the “bright Goldilocks zone of viscosity” with over 80% accuracy minus a wet lab experiment holds immense potential, VP Research Haldar said at an event as he spoke about a “hinge moment” for AI in pharma

Eisai Expands Dementia Ecosystem Via EcoNaviSta Acquisition

 
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Move to acquire profitable Tokyo-based venture part of Japanese major's strategy of building a broader ecosystem for dementia detection and care.


MSD’s CIDO Williams: ‘We Must Shorten Technology Adoption Cycles’

 

MSD's chief information & digital officer emphasizes the need for pharma to accelerate technology adoption cycles to ensure drugs reach patients faster. The role of a robust digital backbone for seamless data flow, leadership commitment in digital transformation and an upcoming technology center in Hyderabad are other aspects he discussed.

Asia Deal Watch: Daiichi Sankyo Teams With Nosis On Extrahepatic RNA Therapies

 

Plus deals involving Hyundai/Pharma/Avelos, Yuhan/Boehringer Ingelheim, SciClone/Eisai, Viatris/Nxera/Idorsia, Nxera/Holling and Takeda/BridGene.

Illexcor Stake Gets Zydus Once-Daily Candidate For Sickle Cell Disease

 
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A stake acquisition in US venture Illexcor allows India's Zydus to get in on the ground floor for a potential once-daily sickle cell disease treatment. The candidate showed promising preclinical results in a field that has yielded mixed outcomes for global majors like Novartis, Pfizer and Novo Nordisk

Kelun Wins World’s First TROP2 ADC Approval In Lung Cancer

 

While diverging from partner Merck & Co. in its study dosage of sacituzumab tirumotecan, Kelun has garnered the world’s first approval, in China, for a TROP2-targeting antibody-drug conjugate, for the treatment of lung cancer.