Biopharma companies secured $102.15 billion in funding in 2024, a 44% increase from $70.97 billion in the full-year 2023 and significantly higher than the $60.81 billion raised in 2022. December financings reached $4.69 billion, marking an increase from $3.6 billion in November.

From local drug discovery to global innovation, economic uncertainty is taking a toll on China’s innovative biotech system, forcing local companies to weather unpredictable storms, investors said during the Chinabio Partnering Forum in Shanghai in September.

At Bio Japan 2024, policymakers and industry leaders pledged to make Japan a land of drug discovery to attract native and foreign drug developers. Like many Asian countries, Japan is harnessing and prioritizing the bio sector to drive economic growth, throwing its weight behind its 10-year Bioeconomy initiative to create bioclusters and increase investment.

Biopharma deal activity in November reached $29.18 billion, up from $22.29 billion in October. Year-to-date deal values have increased 3.6%, from $194.13 billion in the first 11 months of 2023 to $201.19 billion through November this year, overtaking 2023 to be the highest year on record through the month.

Biopharma companies have raised $97.42 billion through November 2024, up 46% from $66.79 billion during the same period in 2023 and also more than $56.56 billion in 2022.

Beijing Hanmi Pharm. Co. Ltd. broke ground on a ₩140 billion (US$98.65 million) large-scale project to build a near-500,000-square-foot China base near Beijing Capital International Airport in efforts to increase the company’s local production, R&D and office capabilities.

Our immune cells are not just “defenders” against deadly viruses and pathogens but also a great balancer for tissue homeostasis. For neurological disorders, understanding the neuro-immune axis could be key to treating previously untreatable conditions such as autism spectrum disorder, according to Jun R. Huh, professor of immunology at Harvard Medical School.

South Korean billionaire and chairman of Celltrion Group Jungjin Seo is returning Celltrion Inc. to its contract manufacturing organization (CMO) roots, as it relies on biosimilar sales to anchor the company in a fiercely competitive novel drug R&D arena.

Kura Oncology Inc. and Kyowa Kirin Co. Ltd. have joined hands in a global strategic collaboration worth $1.49 billion to develop and commercialize ziftomenib, Kura’s selective oral menin inhibitor for treating patients with acute myeloid leukemia (AML) and other hematologic malignancies.

The U.S. FDA approved 15 drugs in October, marking a decline from 24 in September and 22 in August. Despite the drop, the 2024 monthly average stands at about 19 approvals, exceeding last year’s average of 16, 2022’s 12.5, and the 17-per-month averages recorded in both 2021 and 2020.