ADEL Inc. closed a year-end licensing deal worth up to $1.04 billion with Sanofi SA for ADEL-Y01, a specific tau-targeting Alzheimer’s disease drug candidate in a U.S. phase I study.

Experience gained in the Asia-Pacific region is helping shape the Menarini Group’s global strategy as the Italian pharmaceutical company looks to emerging markets to drive long-term, sustainable growth.

Formation Bio Inc. acquired ex-China rights to Lynk Pharmaceuticals Co. Ltd.’s oral TYK2-inhibitor, LNK-01006, for up to $605 million. The phase I-ready central nervous system (CNS) candidate will be developed at Formation’s newly formed subsidiary, Bleecker Bio.

China’s clinical trial volume has surged to nearly U.S. scale and now tops Europe, sitting at about 80% of U.S. levels and roughly 10% above the EU in 2024.

The quest for metabolic disease assets continues with another player promising top dollar for novel therapeutics that deliver. Copenhagen, Denmark-based Zealand Pharma A/S entered a collaboration and license agreement with newly formed OTR Therapeutics to pursue next-generation small-molecule therapeutics, beyond the Danish firm’s current peptide pipeline candidates focused on the GLP-1, GLP-2, GIP, amylin and glucagon mechanisms.

Crescent Biopharma Inc. teamed with Sichuan Kelun-Biotech Biopharmaceutical Co. Ltd. to generate “parallel” data of its PD-1/VEGF bispecific antibody, CR-001. The goal is to get 2027 readouts of the bispecific as a monotherapy and as a combination therapy with antibody-drug conjugates in both the U.S. and China.

Immutep Ltd.’s stock surged 31% on Tuesday morning following the news that it out-licensed rights to Dr. Reddy’s Laboratories Ltd. to develop and commercialize eftilagimod (IMP-321, efti) in selected territories in a deal worth AU$528.4 million (US$349.5 million).

Two South Korean conglomerates – Samyang Holdings Corp. and Samsung Biologics Co. Ltd. – listed their newly spun-off biopharmaceutical units on Korea Exchange’s (KRX) main trading board Nov. 24.

Immunotherapy-focused biotech company LTZ Therapetics Inc. and GSK plc are partnering to develop up to four potential first-in-class myeloid cell engagers using LTZ’s immune-engager platform to target blood cancers and solid tumors.