Focus On Asia
The exact causes leading to Chinese authorities’ investigation of the UK major remain unclear at this point, but its key oncology drugs are facing fierce local competition from homegrown rivals.
Continued growth for mainstay Entyvio and cancer newcomer Fruzaqla drove growth at Takeda in the fiscal first half, with the Japanese major brightening its outlook for the full year.
Lanreotide supply challenges could impact Cipla’s US revenues in the coming quarter, while the firm hopes it can seize emerging opportunities in the GLP-I segment in India, where Novo Nordisk and Eli Lilly are progressing filings for their blockbuster products.
High patient needs, a large healthcare market and innovation potential in the biotech sector in China still appear to be maintaining and attracting investments by overseas biopharma companies, including by Bayer and Lilly in biotech start-ups and Lilly in manufacturing.
Strides is to supply semaglutide and liraglutide to generics companies amid global capacity constraints and drug shortages, ahead of loss of exclusivity. An ability to make drug-device combinations has meant it has contracts for seven of the eight GLP-1 agonists, and counting
Following strong demand for offerings by D&D Pharmatech and ENCell, sentiment around biopharma IPOs in Korea appears to be improving, with several other ventures planning to float.
ZL-1310, a DLL3-targeting ADC, has shown a 74% objective response rate in extensive-stage small cell lung cancer after platinum-based chemotherapy, making it a new contender in this setting.
Biostar plans to raise up to $41m through a Hong Kong IPO, which help the Chinese chemotherapy specialist progress lead asset utidelone for various oncology indications.
Multiple Japanese ventures presented updates on their novel pipeline assets and modalities at BioJapan, including cell and gene therapies and combination treatments, despite lingering financing challenges.
CEO of Sumitomo Pharma America unit, Adele M. Gulfo, draws from experiences working across companies including Pfizer, to advise on go-to-market strategies for a portfolio across primary care to rare disease.
Excellence, innovation, deal-making and personal achievement across the Japanese biopharma sector were celebrated at the Citeline Japan Awards 2024, held in Tokyo on 22 October.
Sanofi’s EVP (general medicines), Olivier Charmeil, talks about pharma’s evolving go-to-market strategies that enmesh a more personalized, data-driven approach, why the medical, legal, and regulatory (MLR) review process needs to be faster and also impressive learnings from Amazon, Netflix and Ikea around building customer experience.
In a video interview, Nandini Piramal, chairperson of Piramal Pharma, speaks with Scrip about a focus on on-patent products, an integrated ADC offering, a measured approach to the proposed BIOSECURE Act and the company’s strategy to double revenue to about $2bn
While oncology and discovery-stage assets accounted for the majority of R&D projects supported by a Korean state fund this year, new modalities such as ADCs and TPDs are emerging.
Japanese distributor Meiji Seika Pharma is considering possible legal action against what it views as online slander around COVID-19 vaccine Kostaive, which received its global-first approval in Japan last year and has now been launched for regular vaccination in the country.
A court order encompassing funding, drug pricing, clinical trials and overall policy implementation aspects is expected to bring about a paradigm shift in the treatment of rare diseases in India. Sarepta, Roche and Sanofi are among the key players that have been part of pricing discussions.
Axcynsis is developing a derivative of the chemotherapy agent Yondelis as a new payload, which the Singapore venture will first apply to a Claudin 6-targeting ADC it plans to take into a Phase I trial in the US, its chairman, CEO and founder tells Scrip in an interview.
Recent major developments in the Korean biotech sector include Orum Therapeutics’ IPO plan and HLB’s US resubmission for the approval of rivoceranib in combination with camrelizumab for first-line liver cancer.
Indian CMOs, CDMOs and CRDMOs are expanding capacity and making leadership moves ahead of the BIOSECURE Act, anticipating demand from big pharma and budding biotechs. Scrip brings details on leading Indian firms which could be potential go-to suppliers for US companies affected by the proposed Act
Syngene’s CEO talks to Scrip about how the firm is deepening capabilities in areas like ADCs, PROTACs and why the US Inflation Reduction Act may not necessarily shrink outsourced small molecule work. The executive also shares his view on the China ‘rebalancing’ trend amid geopolitical tensions and the US BIOSECURE Act.