Asia
South Korea has attracted increasing investment from the pharmaceutical industry, which is drawn to the Asian country due to its experience in antibody-drug conjugates and cell and gene therapies, according to McKinsey.
Sanofi will gain global exclusive rights over rovadicitinib, an oral JAK/ROCK blocker that has anti-inflammatory and anti-fibrotic effects.
Solstice Oncology will gain an exclusive worldwide license to Harbour BioMed’s porustobrt, an anti-CTLA-4 antibody currently being studied for melanoma, colorectal cancer and other malignancies in China.
Ecnoglutide, which Pfizer licensed from Sciwind Biosciences, is already approved in China for type 2 diabetes mellitus, and a marketing application for weight loss has been accepted by regulatory authorities in the country.
Kailera will launch a global Phase 2 study of ribupatide this year, while Hengrui will push the asset into Phase 3 in China.
AstraZeneca’s $15 billion pledge to its China operations highlights the country’s advantages. But other regions are also hoping to host more clinical studies.
The pact, which could see AstraZeneca ultimately put out $18.5 billion in milestones and sales-based payments, is centered on SYH2082, a long-acting dual agonist of the GLP-1 and GIP receptors.
AstraZeneca has risen as one of pharma’s most prolific investors in China, including a $630 million pledge last week for full rights to AbelZeta’s cell therapy for cancer.
Phacilitate’s annual event dawns as cell and gene therapies reach a new tipping point: the science has hit new heights just as regulatory and government policies spark momentum and frustration.
With the biopharma industry performing better of late, analysts, executives and other industry watchers are “cautiously optimistic”—a term heard all over the streets of San Francisco at the J.P. Morgan Healthcare Conference earlier this month.
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