China

Private Company Edition: Three out of eight $100m-plus venture capital financings so far in December were raised by China-based biotech firms – $110m for SanegeneBio, $108m for D3 Bio and $100m for OTR – reflecting growing interest in drug candidates from the country.

Deal Snapshot: The US giant has entered into an antibody biobucks deal with China's Harbour BioMed that could be worth over $1bn.

Clinical Data Readout: As a worldwide first mover, InnoCare’s BTK inhibitor orelabrutinib has hit its monotherapy primary endpoint of SRI-4 response rate at 48 weeks in a China-only Phase IIb trial in systemic lupus erythematosus.

Lupeng's BTK inhibitor rocbrutinib has shown an 80.0% ORR in a Phase I trial in patients who had received a covalent or non-covalent BTK inhibitor plus BCL-2 inhibitor, setting the stage for a comparative trial, possibly with Jaypirca.

To develop bispecific, dual-payload antibody-drug conjugates, Phrontline Biopharma’s strategy is to tune the activity of each payload to a similar level and engineer both toxins to fit within a branched linker, its CEO tells Scrip in an interview.

The biopharmaceutical landscape in 2026 will be shaped by rapid technological progress, shifting geographic leadership, a looming patent cliff and a renewed focus on capital efficiency.

In the head-to-head Phase III HARMONY trial in metformin-failed type 2 diabetes, HighTide's HTD1801 yielded a mean 1.12% reduction in HbA1c from baseline at 24 weeks, versus 0.93% for AstraZeneca’s Farxiga.

Sichuan Biokin Pharmaceutical's BMS-partnered bispecific antibody-drug conjugate iza-bren had met both endpoints of PFS and OS in a China-only Phase III trial for the second-line treatment of esophageal squamous cell carcinoma.

Byterna, Starna, Vivacta and DeliNova ride surging investor sentiment on in vivo CAR-T assets to secure venture funding.

In a world-first, Beijing Mabworks has scored a Phase III clinical win for its novel anti-CD20 antibody in the treatment of primary membranous nephropathy. However, multiple global contenders including Roche are threatening to come from behind in the race.

Sandoz’s CEO used the firm’s latest results call to highlight “trade distortion” in the pencillins market as a result of US tariffs, urging European authorities to take action to reduce the region’s “geopolitical exposure” and safeguard the long-term sustainability of European-produced penicillins.

Newly revealed data on HLX43’s recommended Phase II/III dose has boosted Henlius’s confidence to launch up to eight Phase III trials of the ADC in lung cancer. Phase III trials of the agent in more cancer types are also on the horizon.