Shanghai Junshi Biosciences Co. Ltd. has submitted a new drug application (NDA) for its anti-PD-1 monoclonal antibody toripalimab to the European Medicines Agency, which marks the first NDA filing of toripalimab in Europe.

Reistone Biopharma Co. Ltd. said both doses of the JAK1 inhibitor ivarmacitinib, tested against moderate to severe atopic dermatitis (AD) in a multinational phase III trial, met the study’s co-primary endpoints, delivering significant improvements on a common measure of disease severity vs. placebo. It’s the first National Class A new drug for AD that is designed and developed in China, according to the company.

Zenas Biopharma LLC has raised $118 million in a series B round to support a global phase III trial of its lead asset as well as other immunotherapies for autoimmune diseases in its pipeline. The study, expected to begin in 2023, will evaluate obexelimab for the treatment of patients with immunoglobulin G4-related disease in late 2022.

Nona Biosciences Co. Ltd., a subsidiary of Harbour Biomed Therapeutics Ltd. launched in November to provide “idea to IND” services, has struck a deal with Moderna Inc. to develop nucleic acid-based immunotherapies. The candidates will be based on Harbour’s heavy chain only antibody discovery platform.

Fresh off announcing a new $1.2 billion joint drug discovery and development project with Sanofi SA, Insilico Medicine Inc. founder and CEO Alex Zhavoronkov joined a chorus of executives at the Asia Summit on Global Health in proclaiming the critical importance of partnership between biopharma, tech companies, and regulators, even amid rising tensions between China and the West.

China’s National Medical Products Administration (NMPA) awarded Akeso Inc.  breakthrough therapy designation for its PD-1 checkpoint inhibitor/VEGF bispecific antibody, ivonescimab (AK-112), combined with docetaxel for locally advanced or metastatic non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) in patients who failed to respond to prior PD-(L)1 inhibitors combined with chemotherapy.