Peptidream Inc. and Genentech Inc., a Roche Holding company, signed a deal worth up to $1 billion to discover and develop macrocyclic peptide-radioisotope (peptide-RI) drug conjugates. Peptidream, of Kawasaki, Japan, will use its peptide discovery platform system technology to discover, optimize and develop macrocyclic peptide candidates for use as peptide-RI drug conjugates against targets of interest to Genentech. Genentech will pay Peptidream an up-front payment of $40 million and up to $1 billion in potential development, regulatory, and commercial-based milestones. In addition, Peptidream is eligible to receive tiered royalties on net sales (ex-Japan) of any products arising from the collaboration.
Starpharma Holdings Ltd.'s nanoscale drug delivery technology shows enhanced safety and durable responses in phase II trials compared to standard of care therapies in patients with advanced colorectal and ovarian cancer.
Innovent Biologics Inc. announced a HKD$2.37 billion (US$306 million) placement on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange (HKEX) to advance its late-stage pipeline, including mazdutide, a GLP-1R/GCGR dual agonist for diabetes and obesity. The company plans to offer 68 million new shares priced at HKD$34.92, which represents an 8.8% discount to the previous closing price of HKD$38.30 per share, the company said in a filing on the HKEX. Morgan Stanley is the sole placing agent.
Awak Technologies Pte Ltd. raised more than $20 million in a series B round that will position the company to potentially transform the management of chronic kidney disease with its wearable and portable peritoneal dialysis (PD) device designed to enable patients with end-stage kidney disease to have dialysis on the go.
Hasten Biopharmaceutical Co. Ltd. has licensed greater China rights to Lib Therapeutics Inc.’s next-generation PCSK9 inhibitor lerodalcibep in a deal worth up to $325 million.
After raising HKD$320 million (US$40.8 million) in its IPO on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange last week, Immuneonco Biopharmaceuticals Co. Ltd.’s stock has continued to rise, and analysts are expecting the Hong Kong market to pick up after a slack start to the year.
Daiichi Sankyo Co Ltd.’s HER3-directed antibody-drug conjugate patritumab deruxtecan showed clinically meaningful and durable responses in patients with EGFR-mutated locally advanced or metastatic non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) in the Herthena-Lung1 phase II trial.
Brii Biosciences Ltd.’s therapeutic vaccine for hepatitis B (HBV), BRII-179 (VBI-2601), induced functional immune responses – inducing broad antibody and T-cell responses – in patients with chronic HBV in a phase II trial that evaluated the vaccine in combination with pegylated interferon-alfa, according to interim results.
China’s National Medical Products Administration (NMPA) has given the green light to Gloria Biosciences Co. Ltd.’s anti-PD-1 monoclonal antibody, zimberelimab (Yutuo, GLS-010), for treating second-line cervical cancer, making it the first immune checkpoint inhibitor approved in China for treating the disease.
People who can’t verbalize their pain often end up being under medicated, and Painchek Ltd. uses artificial intelligence (AI) to identify the presence of pain even when it may not be obvious. This gives a voice to those who cannot verbalize pain, while also driving objectivity and consistency in pain assessments.
