Focus On Asia
Throughout 2024, Chinese firms as sole sponsors initiated a total of seven global Phase III trials that including US sites. BeiGene, Genfleet and InnoCare are expected to add four similar studies this year.
India cracks down on unethical marketing practices, with AbbVie in the eye of a storm for allegedly violating norms. While the action sends the right signal, a wider clean up including in the devices segment, where things may be “more harmful” may not be easy, say some experts.
Scrip picks five key themes that dominated biopharma developments in 2024 and look set to continue to influence the industry throughout this year.
The new year has already brought multiple deals for China-originated antibody-drug conjugates in the DLL3 class, which companies in the country dominate.
CARsgen's anti-Claudin 18.2 CAR-T therapy satricabtagene autoleucel has met its endpoint in a pivotal Phase II trial in later-stage gastric/gastroesophageal junction adenocarcinoma, paving the way for a China NDA filing.
US firm is using a mix of partnerships and direct presence to build its operations in Asia, which will focus on novel drugs.
Plus deals involving Hangzhou DAC/Aadi, Astellas/Sangamo, Kyorin/Bayer, Eisai/Newron, Lupin/Boehringer Ingelheim, Asahi Kasei/Chiome and more.
Merck’s India head for process solutions and Aragen Bioscience’s CEO talk about an incubator set-up and AI-led drug discovery to enable India’s research ecosystem, US tariffs on China, ADC and GLP-1 development, funding path for Goldman Sachs-investee Aragen and more in this video interview
CytoCares’ CEO shares plans for CC312, a potentially first-in-class trispecific antibody for autoimmune disorders it sees as differentiated from global rivals.
Sanofi's EVP, manufacturing and supply, Brendan O’Callaghan, tells Scrip how modular concept manufacturing at a new site in Singapore can drive efficiencies and minimize downtime, with technologies such as digital twins expected to further improve operational metrics.
The struggling Japanese pharma group is aiming to grow its new cell therapy business in the US and Japan to $2.3bn by the late 2030s.
Some five years on from the first approval of a novel drug originated in China, 10 first-in-class drugs of Chinese origin have been commercialized. But the results have been mixed, with few actual or potential blockbusters.
Cipla secures regulatory approval for partner MannKind’s Afrezza following a Phase III trial in India. KOLs signal nuanced enthusiasm for the inhaled insulin which is approved in the US and Brazil.
Several Japanese pharma firms are developing use cases for GenAI beyond R&D, in some cases boosting their capabilities with an Nvidia-backed supercomputer platform.
Boehringer Ingelheim’s sale of three diabetes brands in India, with the same composition as Jardiance, Jardiance Met and Glyxambi, to Torrent comes ahead of the expiry of the Indian patent for empagliflozin. A launch for other indications is also expected.
Eli Lilly’s India chief, at a recent summit, talked about India moving up the “priority list” when it came to boardroom discussions, while the founding CEO, Ayushman Bharat Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana, outlined the implications for pharma as the massive publicly funded health assurance scheme widens coverage in the country.
In addition to C-Ray Therapeutics’ $100m-plus series A+ round, Allink Biotherapeutics and IMPACT Therapeutics closed VC/PE-backed financing deals worth $42m and $34m, respectively. Other Chinese biotechs also sealed smaller deals.
The divestment decision comes years after it slimmed down amid challenges in the Japanese generic market.
Primary biliary cholangitis or cirrhosis, PBC, is a lesser-known cousin of MASH but a silent killer, nevertheless. Scrip studies data from Citeline’s Pharmaprojects and separately Evaluate Pharma to reveal a promising pipeline and drug revenue forecasts, with APAC firms accounting for half the pipeline of drugs
China’s fresh approval of a sublingual form of Simcere's edaravone/dexborneol brain cytoprotective agent for acute ischemic stroke is paving the way for an international Phase III study in this indication.