South Korea’s antitrust agency on July 20 imposed fines of ₩40.9 billion (US$31.9 million) to crack down on 32 pharmaceutical firms charged with colluding on production, distribution and wholesale of vaccines in the country’s immunization program.
Artificial intelligence (AI) drug discovery specialist Insilico Medicine Inc. is progressing INS018-055, its lead compound to phase II trials for idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis, a chronic lung disease that results in progressive and irreversible decline in lung function.
Sosei Heptares is fulfilling its ambition for growth in the Asia-Pacific region by buying the Japanese and South Korea businesses of Swiss biotech Idorsia Ltd. for ¥65 billion (US$463 million), potentially freeing Idorsia from its struggle to prove its stroke drug, Pivlaz (clazosentan), is effective enough to warrant approval in key Western markets.
Prestige Biopharma Ltd. is mounting efforts to rise rank through the industry with a two-pronged strategy of becoming a global cancer antibody drug developer and contract development and manufacturing organization.
Another collaboration between two biopharmaceutical companies in the Asia-Pacific region is adding fuel to an already heated fire for antibody-drug conjugate (ADC) development worldwide. Suzhou, China-headquartered Genequantum Healthcare Co. Ltd. and South Korea’s Aimedbio Inc. recently announced extending an existing partnership to jointly develop five ADC investigative drugs.
Questionable efficacy, high priced and risky side effects are some words to describe Leqembi (lecanemab), the latest amyloid beta-targeting antibody approved by the U.S. FDA, Korean experts said, but none of that diminishes the profound significance of the drug for Alzheimer’s disease.
Elevar Therapeutics Inc. said that the U.S. FDA accepted its NDA for oral tyrosine kinase inhibitor rivoceranib in combination with PD-1 inhibitor camrelizumab (Airuika) as a first-line treatment for liver cancer. The FDA stamped an official PDUFA target action date of May 16, 2024.
Shineco Inc.’s subsidiary Changzhou Biowin Pharma received marketing approval from China’s NMPA for its test device that can complete a diagnosis of acute myocardial infarction in five minutes. The five-minute cardiac test relies on a combination of three major cardiac markers that can detect cardiac troponin I, myoglobin and heart fatty acid binding protein in a single test.
Tissue regeneration company Osteopore Ltd. is on the cusp of dramatically changing the way orthopedic surgery is conducted globally, with Australia playing a crucial role. Osteopore was the first company to successfully develop and commercialize 3D-printed bioresorbable implants for surgical use, reducing post-surgery complications compared to permanent implants.
Lifetech Scientific Corp.’s fully degradable iron-based absorbable coronary scaffold showed its safety and efficacy to treat non-complex coronary lesions that have not been previously treated with an interventional device during a three-year, first-in-humans trial.
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