Despite new laws and enforcement efforts, protecting intellectual property (IP) rights in China remains a big challenge for companies based in the U.S. and other countries. A case in point is China’s new patent law that came into effect in June 2021.
The U.S. FDA has approved Daiichi Sankyo Co. Ltd. and Astrazeneca plc’s Enhertu (fam-trastuzumab deruxtecan) as the first HER2-directed therapy for patients with HER2-low metastatic breast cancer.
Lepu Biopharma Co. Ltd. has been given conditional approval by China’s NMPA for its anti-PD-1 monoclonal antibody, Puyouheng (pucotenlimab injection), based on data from a phase II study. The drug was conditionally greenlighted for patients with unresectable or metastatic microsatellite instability-high (MSI-H) or mismatch repair deficient (dMMR) advanced solid tumors.
Genuine Biotech Co. Ltd.’s azvudine has been granted conditional approval by China’s NMPA for the treatment of COVID-19. The drug, first granted conditional approval from the NMPA to treat HIV-1-infected adults with high viral loads in July 2021, is the first domestically developed oral medicine approved to treat COVID-19 in China and was approved just 10 days after its application was submitted on July 15.
As Democrats in the U.S. Senate rush to pass prescription drug pricing reforms through the reconciliation process this week, the nonpartisan Information Technology & Innovation Foundation (ITIF) is offering Japan’s experience with government price controls as a cautionary tale.
An expert panel of Japan’s Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare (MHLW) pushed back on recommending conditional approval for a second time for Shionogi & Co. Ltd.’s orally administered COVID-19 antiviral 3CL protease inhibitor, S-217622, also known as ensitrelvir.
After political leaders across the globe made patents and other intellectual property safeguards the scapegoat for disparities in access to COVID-19 vaccines, the biopharma industry is sharing its vision for how to deal with the foundational issues of equitable access in pandemics to come – and it has nothing to do with IP waivers like the one World Trade Organization members adopted last month.
Japan’s Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare has cleared Japan Tissue Engineering Co. Ltd.’s (J-Tec) autologous cultured cartilage, called Jacc, after a seven-year re-examination period.
China’s NMPA gave the green light to Simcere Pharmaceutical Group Ltd. for Cosela (injectable trilaciclib hydrochloride) as a treatment to decrease the risk of chemotherapy-induced myelosuppression. It is intended for adult patients with extensive-stage small-cell lung cancer (ES-SCLC), before they undergo a platinum/etoposide-containing regimen.
Jiangsu Hengrui Pharmaceuticals Co. Ltd. plans to expand its androgen receptor inhibitor, rezvilutamide, to markets abroad after getting a thumbs up from China’s NMPA for treating metastatic hormone-sensitive prostate cancer patients with high-volume disease burden.