Elpiscience Biopharma Ltd. is out-licensing to Astellas Pharma Inc. two preclinical bispecific macrophage engagers – ES-019, an anti-PD-L1/SIRPα bispecific antibody, and another unnamed program – in a deal worth up to $1.7 billion. The deal marks the Shanghai-based company’s first out-licensing deal, Elpiscience CEO Darren Ji told BioWorld, noting that Astellas will have global rights to both molecules with a potential to in-license two more.
Elpiscience Biopharma Ltd. is out-licensing to Astellas Pharma Inc. two preclinical bispecific macrophage engagers – ES-019, an anti-PD-L1/SIRPα bispecific antibody, and another unnamed program – in a deal worth up to $1.7 billion. The deal marks the Shanghai-based company’s first out-licensing deal, Elpiscience CEO Darren Ji told BioWorld, noting that Astellas will have global rights to both molecules with a potential to in-license two more.
MSD had a banner year at the ESMO Asia Congress earlier this month, presenting 14 abstracts on eight different types of cancers, including gastric, esophageal, colorectal, biliary tract, kidney, urothelial, breast and gynecological cancers. Ten of these studies were focused on Asian-related data. Roche AG, meanwhile, presented Asia-specific results from the phase III Alina study in patients with ALK-positive early stage non-small-cell lung cancer.
Lianbio Co. Ltd. is out-licensing NBTXR-3 to Janssen Pharmaceutical NV to develop and commercialize the radioenhancer in China, South Korea, Singapore and Thailand. Earlier this month, Tang Capital’s Concentra Biosciences LLC lodged a proposal to acquire Lianbio for $465 million, which the company’s shareholders rejected.
Asia continues its push to be the global leader with precision health and artificial intelligence/machine learning (AI/ML) models for diagnosing disease. Most health care systems in Asia’s major markets include universal health care coverage and are leaning toward electronic health records, paving the way for seamless use of data. At the same time, AI/ML is making its way across the entire health care spectrum, including applications to diagnose breast cancer, kidney disease, cognitive decline, depression and even retinal imaging to detect cardiac disease.
Starpharma Holdings Ltd.’s DEP docetaxel phase II trial met its primary endpoints, demonstrating antitumor activity in multiple advanced, metastatic cancers, including pancreatic, gastro-esophageal, non-small-cell lung cancer and cholangiocarcinoma.
Metastatic colorectal cancer remains the second leading cause of cancer-related mortality globally, but treatment options are generally limited to RAS mutation status for anti-EGFR therapies. Researchers at the Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research (WEHI) in Melbourne developed a method to grow organoids from patient-derived tumor samples that achieved 83% accuracy in predicting patient responses to different therapies.
In 2023, Japan has faced mounting criticism from the pharma industry for its annual price reductions. Ahead of the G7 summit hosted in Japan in May 2023, a delegation of 24 CEOs from the Biopharmaceutical CEO Roundtable met with Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida to discuss global priorities and to flag concerns over drug pricing policies in Japan. Meanwhile, in 2023, China agreed to add 126 drugs to its National Reimbursement Drug List, in a negotiation process that has become more transparent and predictable than ever before. South Korea faces drug pricing reform, while Australia’s government has started an overhaul of its health technology assessment process.
If the COVID-19 pandemic shocked countries to build self-reliance in biomedical ecosystems, the re-opening of borders in 2023 kickstarted international collaborations to grow major biohubs in Asia. Countries in the Asia Pacific region – including Singapore, China, Japan, Korea and Australia – increasingly drew overseas investors and collaborators, helping each country grow national biotech capabilities and expertise.
Neuren Pharmaceuticals Ltd. plans to progress NNZ-2591 to phase III trials following positive top-line phase II results in children with Phelan-McDermid syndrome, a genetic neurodevelopmental disorder for which there are no approved treatments.
