BEIJING – Antibody developer Akeso Biopharma Inc., from China's Guangdong province, closed a $150 million series D financing round to advance its pipeline, especially the two PD-1-based bispecific antibodies, AK-104 and AK-112, aimed to help it stand out in the fierce PD-1 space in China. "A significant portion of the proceeds will go to AK-104 and AK-112, which are both first-in-class drug candidates," Akeso CEO Michelle Xia told BioWorld. This year is a big one for Akeso, as AK-104 and AK-112 received IND approvals from the FDA in March and July, respectively.
BEIJING – Chinese drug regulators granted conditional approval to Shanghai Green Valley (Group) Co. Ltd.'s marine-derived oligosaccharide, GV-971, to treat Alzheimer's disease (AD), but required further trials to prove the drug's efficacy after marketing.
SAN FRANCISCO – At what BIO CEO and President Jim Greenwood called a "Dickensian moment in the history of biotechnology – arguably the best of times and the worst of times" for U.S. industry players, new rules piloted by the Committee on Foreign Investment in the U.S. (CFIUS) have made things even more challenging.
BEIJING – Cell therapies specialist Nanjing Iaso Biotherapeutics Co. Ltd. became the latest Chinese biotech to enter the country's fierce CAR T race, after China regulators granted an IND approval to CT-103A, a fully human BCMA CAR T for treating relapsed or refractory multiple myeloma.
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.
SUZHOU, China – Under the "Healthy China" campaign, China has introduced a three-year action plan for preventing and treating cancer. The plan vows to speed up the marketing of cancer drugs in the country, even aiming for simultaneous marketing with other countries.
SUZHOU, China, and HONG KONG – Despite investor worries over the long-term political and economic stability of Hong Kong after almost four months of social unrest and frequent violent protests, Chinese biotech executives remain optimistic about the outlook for the prospects for the market.
SUZHOU, China – A recent revision to China's legal infrastructure for the pharma industry represents a concrete step toward bolstering domestic biotech innovation, said stakeholders gathered at last weekend's China Biomed Innovation and Investment Conference.
SUZHOU, China – The Hong Kong Stock Exchange (HKEX) chief proposed to unleash China's rich data resources to advance big health care, after he steered a groundbreaking move last year to welcome pre-revenue biotech companies, a move that has become a hot topic for the industry at home and abroad.