Sosei Group Corp. is getting €25 million (US$27.3 million) up front in a global collaboration and option-to-license deal with Boehringer Ingelheim GmbH aimed at developing GPR52 agonists, a new target for schizophrenia designed to potentially address positive, negative and cognitive symptoms at the same time.
Yuhan Corp., of Seoul, South Korea, added a new potential cancer drug to its oncology pipeline, licensing a son of sevenless homolog 1 (SOS1) inhibitor co-developed by Cyrus Therapeutics Inc. and Kanaph Therapeutics Inc. for ₩208 billion (US$156.3 million).
South Korean biopharmaceutical company Celltrion Inc. submitted a BLA to the U.S. FDA on March 10 to gain approval for its Xolair (omalizumab; Novartis AG) biosimilar, CT-P39, across major indications of asthma, food allergy and chronic spontaneous urticaria.
Foreign investment in China’s biopharma sector is beginning to pick up after the hit of severe pandemic restrictions, and as Western governments look to revive trading relationships following a spate of diplomatic rows.
Dimerix Ltd. announced a AU$20 million ($US13.22 million) capital raise following the news that its lead candidate, DMX-200, was successful in a prespecified interim analysis of the efficacy endpoint in its pivotal phase III trial in focal segmental glomerulosclerosis, a rare kidney disease.
China’s National Medical Products Administration (NMPA) cleared 40 novel innovative drugs in 2023, of which nearly half were cancer therapies, marking a significant increase from the 21 new class 1 drugs approved in 2022.
In a move to widen global access to its Qdenga dengue vaccine, Takeda Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd. is partnering with India’s Biological E. Ltd. to manufacture Qdenga (TAK-003).
Pharmaust Ltd.’s monepantel met its primary safety endpoints and showed positive signals of potential efficacy in a phase I trial in patients with motor neuron disease (MND)/amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). With these results, the company will now progress to a pivotal phase II/III trial by midyear, Pharmaust CEO Michael Thurn told BioWorld.
China’s NMPA has approved Carsgen Therapeutics Holdings Ltd.’s NDA for its B-cell maturation antigen (BCMA)-targeted CAR T-cell therapy, zevorcabtagene autoleucel (CT-053, zevor-cel), for treating adults with relapsed or refractory (r/r) multiple myeloma (MM) who have progressed after at least three prior lines of therapy, including a proteasome inhibitor and immunomodulatory agent.
In a move to build up its dominance in the radiopharma market, Telix Pharmaceuticals Ltd. said it plans to acquire radioisotope production technology firm Artms Inc. and its advanced cyclotron-based isotope production platform, manufacturing plant and stockpile of ultra-pure rare metals.