Innovent Builds Metabolic Pipeline While Retaining Oncology Backbone

 
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Innovent presented data on multiple pipeline assets at ASCO, including promising OS results for its first-in-class anti-PD-1/IL-2α-bias bispecific. The Chinese firm is also continuing to build out its metabolic disease portfolio and consider its partnering strategies, its CEO tells Scrip.

Profit-Sharing AI Model Proposed To Boost Korean Drug R&D

 
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A differentiated profit-sharing model to accelerate the use of AI in drug development using clinical and patient data is being proposed in South Korea, but the idea faces multiple practical challenges

Henlius CEO Details PD-L1 ADC’s Path To 1L Mono/Combo Therapy

 

Henlius is investigating the optimum dose for its PD-L1-targeting antibody-drug conjugate HLX43 to support potential first-line use, its CEO explains to Scrip.

Big Top-Level Shifts At Sun: Ganorkar Is MD, Ex-Takeda Exec To Helm US Business

 

Sun’s founder hands top job to company longtimer Kirti Ganorkar as the firm implements a “structured and forward-looking” succession plan, while Richard Ascroft will lead the Indian drugmaker’s North America business.


AstraZeneca Taps Into China’s R&D Engine With CSPC Alliance

 

After in-licensing a cardiovascular candidate last year, AstraZeneca has signed a strategic drug discovery alliance, which could generate billions of dollars in payments to the Chinese firm.

Is Zydus’s Agenus Deal Opportunistic Or Strategic?

 
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Will Zydus’s acquisition and licensing deal with Agenus turn out to be a strategic move towards building an oncology portfolio or an opportunistic one driven by a venture capital mindset?

Citeline Japan Awards 2025 - Enter Now!

 

The 14 July deadline for the Citeline Japan Awards 2025 in Tokyo is approaching fast, so here's a reminder to take a look at the categories and criteria and be sure to get those submissions in by this date. Sponsorship opportunities and tables for the event are also available.

Crisis Or Opportunity? US MFN Policy Could Test Japan’s Appetite For Reforms

 
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While the adoption of most favored nation drug pricing in the US stands to affect Japanese biopharma firms now heavily reliant on this market, it might also present an opportunity for pricing and policy reforms at home.


Pharma’s Space Trails Entering Transformative Era - Keytruda’s Been There

 

Merck and Lilly are among the leading pharma players using space-based research to power drug development. From reusable satellites to process drugs in low earth orbit to biomanufacturing labs experts discuss R&D opportunities in the starry canvas above.

Chinese Biotech VC/PE Fundings Rise But Still Modest

 

LTZ Therapeutics and Beijing Sungen Biomedical are among the Chinese biotechs raising new funding, of around $40m each, based on their clinical assets with novel mechanisms of action. While fundings have risen, they remain moderate however.

Deal Build-Up Amid Early ‘Deep’ Response For IGI’s Trispecific In Myeloma

 

IGI CEO tells Scrip about the “very encouraging” feedback at ASCO to promising early data for the firm's first-in-class investigational trispecific antibody in multiple myeloma. Is a licensing deal in the offing?

Degron Eyes Deals For Novel Molecular Glue Degrader Assets

 

Pursuing first-in-class molecular glue degraders using undruggable targets could eventually help Degron Therapeutics land sizable asset-based deals, CEO Lily Zou tells Scrip.


ASCO: Lupin Presents Early Data On PRMT5 Inhibitor

 
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ASCO sees the debut of Lupin’s PRMT5 inhibitor candidate LRNP7457, currently in Phase I studies in India. While no drug with this mechanism of action has been approved anywhere so far, several candidates are in clinical trials.

MetaVia Sees Obesity Opportunities Despite Challenging US Market

 
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Despite new challenges related to obesity drug insurance coverage in the US, MetaVia's CEO is confident in the company's novel contender, which unlike rival GLP-1 therapies doesn’t require dose titration.

Public Health And Innovation: Addressing Gaps, Pharma’s Role

 

Expert panel including Ashok Venkitaraman, director of the Cancer Science Institute of Singapore, discusses public health challenges and innovations to help address these. Long-acting drugs, intercepting cancer early and “design thinking” by ophthalmologists in India were among the talking points.

Loss Of Exclusivity Product Launches To Fuel Aurobindo’s FY26 Europe Growth

 
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Aurobindo is banking on launches of loss of exclusivity products and biosimilars to fuel sales in Europe as it awaits a US announcement on tariffs and predicts high single-digit growth overall during FY26 for now


Korea Q1 Roundup: Mixed Earnings, Gearing For Possible US Tariffs

 
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South Korean biopharma companies report a mostly solid first quarter, marked by US growth for original drugs, with several also making preparations for possible US pharma tariffs.

In Brief: Nicox Extends Cash Runway As Kowa Advances NCX 470 In Japan

 

Eye drug is already in Phase III trials elsewhere, with results due in Q3. Nicox could earn up to a further €24.5m in milestones and royalties from Kowa alliance.

Sun On Leqselvi US Launch Ahead, MFN Pricing And Pipeline Changes

 

Sun readies US debut of Leqselvi for alopecia areata, while PD-L1 inhibitor Unloxcyt is in the line up once the Checkpoint Therapeutics deal is completed. Management also discusses limited clarity on President Trump’s most favored nation pricing push, pipeline tweaks and M&A outlook.

Ascentage Broadens Horizons As Pipeline Shows Renewed Promise

 
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Ascentage will share at ASCO new clinical data on its Bcl-2 inhibitor lisaftoclax, part of the Chinese firm's novel pipeline, on which its CEO shared with Scrip plans and strategy, along with some views on the use of RWD in China.