China clears Alphamab’s HER2 bispecific antibody in gastric cancer
China’s National Medical Products Administration has approved Suzhou Alphamab Co. Ltd.’s HER2 bispecific antibody, anbenitamab (KN-026), through priority review for adults with locally advanced or metastatic HER2-positive gastric or gastroesophageal junction adenocarcinoma who have received at least one trastuzumab-containing regimen.

China clears Alphamab’s HER2 bispecific antibody in gastric cancer
China’s National Medical Products Administration has approved Suzhou Alphamab Co. Ltd.’s HER2 bispecific antibody, anbenitamab (KN-026), through priority review for adults with locally advanced or metastatic HER2-positive gastric or gastroesophageal junction adenocarcinoma who have received at least one trastuzumab-containing regimen.
Longbio’s LP-003 meets phase III allergy endpoints
After raising HK$1.255 billion (US$160 million) in its IPO on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange earlier this month, Longbio Pharma Co. Ltd.’s lead candidate, LP-003, met the primary endpoint of total nasal symptom scores during peak pollen season in moderate to severe seasonal allergic rhinitis.
Takeda’s zasocitinib bests Sotyktu in phase III psoriasis trial
Takeda Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd.’s oral TYK2 inhibitor zasocitinib (TAK-279) demonstrated statistical superiority over Bristol Myers Squibb Co.’s first-in-class Sotyktu (deucravacitinib) in a top-line phase III Latitude Atlas readout of moderate to severe plaque psoriasis.
Dimerix out-licenses DMX-200 to Everest in AU$481M deal
Dimerix Ltd. has signed an exclusive licensing deal with Everest Medicines Ltd. to commercialize its phase III kidney disease candidate DMX-200 in a transaction worth up to AU$481 million (US$340 million), plus sales royalties.
Three deals in six days: Everest builds late-stage APAC portfolio
Fresh off a deal with Travere Therapeutics Inc. for civorebrutinib worth more than $1.14 billion, Everest Medicines Ltd. went on a shopping spree, striking three deals in six days to expand its pipeline and geographic reach across Asia Pacific.
Chinese challenger Gan & Lee gains momentum in metabolic disease
Chinese diabetes specialist Gan & Lee Pharmaceuticals is strengthening its position in metabolic disease after reporting positive phase III data for both once-weekly basal insulin candidate Ludefen and obesity therapy bofanglutide.
Elixiron’s enrupatinib shows upbeat interim phase II AD results
Elixiron Immunotherapeutics Inc. announced positive interim open-label phase II Alzheimer’s disease (AD) study findings of enrupatinib, an oral brain-penetrant colony-stimulating factor 1 receptor inhibitor, with plans to move the asset into a biomarker-based and placebo-controlled study.
News in brief
BioWorld Asia briefs for June 16, 2026
China partnerships drive biopharma’s biggest deal month since 2023
Biopharma deal value through the first five months of 2026 reached $135.36 billion, outpacing every prior year and topping 2025’s previous high of $103.92 billion. May was the year’s biggest month so far at $41.78 billion in transactions, making it one of the strongest individual months on record, and far outpacing April’s $13.87 billion.
Oricell brings first pivotal-stage CAR T in liver cancer
Oricell Therapeutics Holdings Ltd.’s glypican-3 (GPC3)-targeted autologous CAR T therapy, Ori-C101, is heading into a confirmatory registration phase II trial in patients with GPC3-positive advanced hepatocellular carcinoma, positioning it as the first GPC3-directed immune cell therapy – and the first CAR T therapy for liver cancer – to reach that stage of development.
Laekna licenses LAE-118 ex-China to Vasque in $527M deal
Laekna Inc. is handing ex-China rights to internally discovered PI3Kα pan-mutant selective inhibitor LAE-118 to U.S.-based Vasque Bio Inc. in a deal worth up to $527 million, marking another asset-monetization move by the Shanghai company as it looks to fund and accelerate development across its oncology and metabolic disease pipeline.
Viva in vivo! At EHA, in vivo CAR T data continues to impress
Treatment with first-generation CAR T cells regularly sent patients to the intensive care unit. Now, investigators are envisioning a future where CAR T treatment could occur on an outpatient basis.

BioWorld Insider podcast

The opioid crisis may not be front and center anymore, but it’s raging still. Elysium Therapeutics Inc. CEO Greg Sturmer talks about his firm’s candidate for a solution to the medical and societal problem.

Listen now

Analysis and data insight

Hemab soars 89% on debut as biopharma IPOs stay strong in May
Financings
Total biopharma financing through the first five months of 2026 reached $49.46 billion, the third-highest total for the period in the dataset and more than doubling of 2025’s $21.4 billion over the same stretch.
ASCO 2026: Chinese biopharma arrives at ASCO with pivotal wins
Clinical
If the 2026 American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) annual meeting in Chicago from May 30 to June 3 demonstrated anything about the evolution of China’s biotechnology sector, it was that the industry’s center of gravity is shifting. While Chinese companies once relied heavily on PD-1...
Competitive approach better than restricting deals with China?
Regulatory
The recent introduction of the bipartisan Biotech Investment National Security Act in the U.S. House has industry and venture capitalists urging lawmakers to take a breath, step back, and consider a less invasive approach than restricting U.S. biopharma deals with Chinese innovators.
Biopharma deal and M&A values soar in early 2026
Deals and M&A
Biopharma deal value through the first four months of 2026 reached $92.98 billion, outpacing every recent year and running well ahead of 2025’s strong $79.82 billion over the same period. January and February each cleared $30 billion, while March and April totaled $18.05 billion and $13.3 billion,...

Financings

Longbio to raise HK$1.4B in Hong Kong IPO for immunology work
Immune
Chinese biotech Longbio Pharma Co. Ltd. announced its IPO on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange to raise HK$1.362 billion (US$174 million) to progress its lead candidate, LP-003, a next-generation anti-IgE antibody.

Australia

AI, remote care drive new models for Australian medtech
Medical technology
Artificial intelligence, remote monitoring and need-based innovation are beginning to reshape Australia’s medtech sector’s devices, as well as the way health care itself is delivered, according to speakers at the 2026 Ausmedtech conference in Perth May 19-20.

Researchers identify innate immune barrier against melanoma
Science
Australian researchers have identified a previously overlooked population of immune cells in the skin that physically restrain melanoma growth by engulfing live melanoma cells, and the discovery could reshape thinking around macrophage-targeted cancer therapies and innate immunity in oncology.
APAC monitors hantavirus as Singapore isolates 2 from cruise ship
Regulatory
Singapore’s Communicable Diseases Agency on May 7 said that it isolated two residents for hantavirus testing after the individuals disembarked from an Atlantic cruise ship on May 2 and May 6, respectively. The measure comes in response to the cluster of cases from the cruise ship, MV Hondius, that...

China

UK Biobank seeks to recall downloads after health data breach
Asia-Pacific
After a major breach of trust when its data were advertised for sale in China, the UK Biobank will now attempt to recall data previously downloaded by legitimate researchers and seek assurances information has been deleted from local servers.
Innovent submits NDA for CLDN18.2 ADC for gastric cancer
Clinical
Innovent Biologics Co. Ltd.’s Claudin18.2-targeted antibody-drug conjugate (ADC), arcotatug tavatecan (IBI-343, TAK-921), met the primary endpoint in the international multicenter phase III G-Hope-001 trial in advanced gastric cancer, according to interim results.
NMPA gives conditional nods to drugs by Lupeng, Vcare, Staidson
Regulatory
China’s National Medical Products Administration (NMPA) on June 4 granted conditional approvals to two oncology drugs from Lupeng Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd. and Vcare Pharmatech Co. Ltd., as well as one hemophilia drug developed by Staidson Biopharmaceutical Co. Ltd.
Wuxi Apptec insists it’s ‘not a Chinese military company’
Regulatory
Wuxi Apptec isn’t going down without a fight after the U.S. Department of Defense added it to the Section 1260H list June 8 as a designated “Chinese military company,” which makes it a “biotechnology company of concern” under the Biosecure Act. “Such designation is mistaken and baseless,” the...
China launches long-awaited drug data protection rules
Regulatory
China’s National Medical Products Administration has issued final implementation measures for drug trial data protection that mark a significant step toward aligning China’s pharmaceutical intellectual property framework with global standards.

Regulatory

Japan backs Oncolys virus therapy for esophageal cancer
Cancer
Japan has granted marketing approval to Oncolys Biopharma Inc.’s oncolytic adenovirus product, Telomelysin (suratadenoturev, OBP-301), for treating esophageal cancer in patients who are not eligible for curative resection or chemoradiotherapy. The approval marks the first oncolytic adenovirus...

Newco news

Curacle, Memento ink $1B deal for ocular TIE2/VEGF bispecific
Deals and M&A
Curacle Co. Ltd. inked a potential $1.07 billion deal with U.S.-based “newco” Memento Medicines on May 10, granting the latter exclusive global rights to develop and commercialize preclinical TIE2/VEGF-directed bispecific antibody MT-103 for retinal disorders.

Pilatus PLT-012 takes immunometabolic approach to reprogram TME
Cancer
Pilatus Bio Inc. is working to address a major under-addressed target of current checkpoint inhibitors: metabolic stress within solid tumors. “Traditional immunotherapies release immune ‘brakes,’ but they do not address the underlying metabolic stress in tumors,” Pilatus CEO and cofounder Raven Lin...
Remedy pushes ‘cell-free’ secretome therapy for IPF into phase I
Clinical
“Single drugs targeting single biological pathways are insufficient for complex diseases,” Remedy Cell Ltd. CEO Ayelet Dilion Mashiah told BioWorld. Remedy is taking a secretome-based approach to treat lung disorders, having moved its lead asset, RC-0315, into a first-in-human clinical trial for...

Science

Hematopoietic stem cell research points to leukemia’s early roots
Conferences
Hematopoietic stem cell research over the past century has shown that leukemia may be driven by an invisible hand of inflammation. The bone marrow and inflammation, then, may hold the keys to preventing blood cancers, according to John E. Dick’s...
Targetable ‘high-plasticity cell state’ important for cancer progression, drug resistance
Cancer
Cancer cells expand through mutations – but not just through mutations. They also change their behavior in the absence of underlying genetic alterations. Such plasticity helps the cells both adapt to the cellular stress fueled by out-of-control...
Sea anemone venom acts as a senolytic tool against cancer
Aging
The sea anemone Stichodactyla helianthus, which carpets the Caribbean seafloor, may hold the key to eliminating the senescent cells that survive cancer therapy. A collaboration led by Spanish scientists across several international research...
In 2025, autoimmune work notches scientific, economic successes
Deals and M&A
In October, the Nobel Committee awarded the 2025 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine to Shimon Sakaguchi, Mary Brunkow and Fred Ramsdell for their discoveries in the field of autoimmunity.
Romidepsin offers hope for high-risk neuroblastoma
Cancer
Australian researchers have found a drug combination that can bypass the cellular defenses in neuroblastoma that lead to relapse, and the discovery could lead to better treatment strategies for children whose cancers have stopped responding to...
HIV remission after heterozygous CCR5Δ32 stem cell transplant
Cancer
2025 has been the most challenging year in the efforts to fight HIV since at least the advent of antiretroviral therapy. In a report on “Overcoming disruption, transforming the AIDS response,” released last week ahead of World AIDS Day on Dec. 1,...

BioWorld Insider Podcast

One-on-one with medical innovators

podcast microphone, sound waves on purple background Breakthrough medicines, billion-dollar deals, spectacular clinical successes and crushing failures all play a part in biopharma’s dynamic story. Developers make scientific advancements with the potential to change everything, only to face regulatory conundrums and ever-fluctuating markets. BioWorld tracks key events in the fast-moving sector every business day. Now, the BioWorld Insider podcast lets you hear directly from the movers and shakers whose collective work is changing how we all live. Join us each week for a new conversation.

Recent episodes:

View all

BioWorld

The news source of record covering the development of innovative human therapies for 25+ years

BioWorld Asia

A weekly monitor of biopharmaceutical news from the industry’s fastest-growing region

BioWorld Science

Essential discovery and preclinical research news to support crucial drug R&D decisions at the earliest stages

BioWorld Premium

Enjoy extended coverage for the most complete market view with BioWorld, BioWorld Science and BioWorld Asia in a single, easy to access subscription

Today's news in brief

BioWorld

BioWorld Asia

BioWorld Science

BioWorld Premium