Undeterred by recent home turf setback, Japanese drug maker Shionogi rides a China’s policy tailwind and bets on Chinese approval for its antiviral COVID drug.

Chinese biotechs have reached deals for cancer therapies to explore the novel uses of messenger RNA technology beyond COVID-19 vaccines, as the mRNA COVID-19 vaccine fame starts fading.

While many pharma firms in China choose to partner with US companies, Jiangsu Hengrui is relying on itself to go global. The Chinese pharma giant is betting on its newly established US subsidiary Luzsana in a major move to make its wide-ranging products more available, accessible and affordable to patients in the US and the rest of the world.

In this week's podcast version of Five Must-Know Things: GSK boosts vaccine presence via M&A; US PBM formulary exclusions on the rise; ASCO data portend battle for bispecifics in lymphoma; mixed ASCO data for Cabometyx combos; and Junshi’s oral COVID-19 antiviral shows promise although questions remain.