HONG KONG – Hutchison China Meditech Ltd.'s (Chi-Med) is preparing for the next step after surufatinib achieved its primary endpoint in a phase III SANET-ep study in extra-pancreatic advanced neuroendocrine tumors (NETs) in China.

WASHINGTON – Hot on the heels of July's FDA approval of Recarbrio (imipenem, cilastatin and relebactam) in complicated urinary tract infections (cUTIs), Merck & Co. Inc. rolled out pivotal phase III data at the Infectious Disease Society of America's IDWeek 2019 that could support expanding its label to another high-need group, people with hospital-acquired or ventilator-associated bacterial pneumonia (HABP/VABP).

Shares of San Diego-based Tocagen Inc. (NASDAQ:TOCA) fell 77.7% to 93 cents on Sept. 12, and further since, after its two-part immunotherapy for people with recurrent brain cancer failed to surpass standard of care on overall survival (OS), the primary endpoint of the company's phase III Toca 5 trial. Secondary endpoints in the registrational study were also missed, showing no meaningful difference between study arms.

HONG KONG – In one of the latest combination efforts against cancer, Kahr Medical Ltd. is teaming up with Switzerland's Basel-based Roche Holding AG to study the use of the former's lead program, DSP-10, in combination with the latter's PD-L1-blocking checkpoint inhibitor, Tecentriq (atezolizumab), in patients with advanced non-small-cell lung carcinoma refractory to checkpoint inhibitors.

PERTH, Australia – Stem cell therapy has failed to deliver on its promises, according to Exopharm Ltd. founder and CEO Ian Dixon, who said he believes that exosomes, or the extracellular vesicles released by stem cells, could be a disrupter in the regenerative medicine space.

HONG KONG – Following a regulatory committee's ruling that three of four deaths previously reported during a phase II trial were unrelated to the study drug, South Korea's Ministry of Food and Drug Safety (MFDS) cleared Yuhan Corp. to continue testing lazertinib (YH-25448) in the non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) study.

PERTH, Australia – San Diego-based Okogen Inc. is taking its clinical trial program to Australia where it will test its lead compound OKG-0301 for acute adenoviral conjunctivitis in the phase II (RUBY) trial.

HONG KONG – China has approved the fourth homegrown CD47 antibody to start clinical trials, intensifying the local CD47 race. Chinese biologics developer I-Mab Biopharma (Shanghai) Co. Ltd. said it received the go-ahead for the clinical study of TJC-4, its differentiated fully human CD47 monoclonal antibody for treating advanced malignant tumors.

PERTH, Australia – Adelaide, Australia-based Bionomics Inc. reported another trial failure with its lead compound, BNC-210, in elderly patients with agitation, but it is still clinging on to hopes that the compound will show a clinical benefit for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

HONG KONG – Shanghai-based biopharma firm Harbour Biomed Therapeutics Ltd. has inked a 10-year pact with Erasmus MC from the University Medical Center Rotterdam to grow its footprint in Europe. Both sides will develop biotherapeutics to treat cancer and immunological diseases.