HONG KONG – Eisai Co. Ltd. has received not one, but two approvals from Japan’s Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare (MHLW), for its anticancer agent Remitoro (denileukin diftitox) and multiple receptor tyrosine kinase inhibitor Lenvima (lenvatinib mesylate). Both approvals, each for a rare disease indication, were granted based on phase II trial results, instead after the usual phase III trials.
HONG KONG – Otsuka Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd. is celebrating its 100th anniversary by inking a collaboration and licensing agreement with Perception Neuroscience LLC to develop and commercialize the latter’s PCN-101 (r-ketamine) in Japan.
HONG KONG – Otsuka Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd. is celebrating its 100th anniversary by inking a collaboration and licensing agreement with Perception Neuroscience LLC to develop and commercialize the latter’s PCN-101 (r-ketamine) in Japan. The treatment targets mood disorders such as major depressive disorder and treatment-resistant depression. Perception is also developing PCN-101 to treat TRD outside Japan.
TORONTO – The University of Toronto (U of T) is collaborating with Kawasaki, Japan’s Fujitsu Laboratories Ltd. to dramatically streamline radiation treatment plans for Gamma Knife brain tumor radiosurgery. Together, they are leveraging Fujitsu's Digital Annealer described as quantum-inspired computing technology to create treatment plans for complex surgical procedures in minutes, while maintaining accuracy and minimizing dosage to surrounding healthy tissue.
HONG KONG – Looking to improve treatment outcomes for Alzheimer’s patients, Shanghai-based Luye Pharma Group has inked a deal to hand the Japanese rights for its leading treatment to Japan’s Towa Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd. Made through Luye’s subsidiary Luye Pharma Switzerland AG, the agreement gives Towa the exclusive rights for the development and commercialization of the Rivastigmine multi-day transdermal patch (Rivastigmine MD) in Japan.
HONG KONG – A Japanese phase III study of Chugai Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd.’s interleukin-6 inhibitor Actemra (tocilizumab) in patients hospitalized with severe COVID-19 pneumonia has read out, expanding what’s known about the drug’s use in the pandemic, which had been inconclusive until recently, though is now known to reduce mortality in the vulnerable population.
HONG KONG – Osaka, Japan-based Shionogi & Co. Ltd. has inked a license agreement with Bioage Labs Inc. that sets the stage for the Richmond, Calif.-based startup to test asapiprant for the treatment of COVID-19 and age-related declines in immune function.
HONG KONG – Japan’s Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare (MHLW) has granted approval for Biocryst Pharmaceuticals Inc.’s Orladeyo (berotralstat), the first and only drug for prophylactic treatment of hereditary angioedema (HAE) approved in the country. Biocryst’ partner, Torii Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd., will launch the drug after completing pricing negotiations with the Japanese National Health Insurance System (NHI). Tokyo-based Orphanpacific Inc., Biocryst’s representative in Japan, holds the marketing authorization.
HONG KONG – Osaka, Japan-based Shionogi & Co. Ltd. has inked a license agreement with Bioage Labs Inc. that sets the stage for the Richmond, Calif.-based startup to test asapiprant, originally developed for allergic rhinitis, for the treatment of COVID-19 and age-related declines in immune function.
HONG KONG – With the sale of a group of noncore assets to a little-known Chinese company, Takeda Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd. took another step in a multibillion-dollar string of divestitures that is part of a plan to cut debt and focus on five key business areas. Takeda announced on Dec. 21 the sale of a portfolio of noncore prescription drugs marketed in China to Hasten Biopharmaceutic Co. Ltd. (China).