Week In Review: Crown Bioscience, A US-China CRO, Applies For Taiwan Listing

For pharmas, Taiwan IPOs are "hot" and Crown Bioscience, a pre-clinical US-China CRO/CMO focused on cancer, joined the trend, applying to list on the Mainboard of Taiwan's GreTai Market; Shanghai Fosun Pharma completed a historic China-India deal, buying an 86% stake in Gland Pharma for $1.3 billion; CR Sanjiu Pharma paid $280 million to acquire Kunming Shenghuo Pharma, a TCM company; Luye Pharma purchased the transdermal patch and implant business of Acino, a Swiss pharma, in a $269 million deal; China's Yueda Group, a state-owned enterprise, officially started a China renal care JV with Diaverum of Germany-Sweden; Frontage Labs, a US-Shanghai CRO, established a JV with Zhejiang Jiuzhou Pharma to provide CDMO services for APIs and intermediates; a World Bank study said China must rebalance its healthcare system to avoid a high-cost, low-value health delivery infrastructure; and Aspen Pharmacare, the South African generic drugmaker, plans to build its China presence in China by increasing its sales force.