Gene therapies for conditions ranging from hemophilia to retinal diseases are blossoming in China and the race in which the winner may take all is on. Driven by ready investors, the field is on the cusp of becoming the latest innovation battleground in the country, while some developers are already moving ahead in the US.

Public Company Edition: While panelists at Biotech Showcase argued merging with a special purpose acquisition corporation is not as attractive as it used to be, firms continue to pursue this go-public alternative. Also, Hillstream launched a small IPO and Cytokinetics accessed cash from Royalty Pharma. 

More progress for vaccines and oral antivirals in Asia as South Korea issues an approval for Novavax's vaccine, Pfizer files for Japanese approval of Paxlovid, and SK bio progresses late-stage trials of its recombinant vaccine. 

Licensing deals and partnerships carried the day during another hectic J.P. Morgan Healthcare Conference. Pfizer racked up its third deal of the week in a cancer collaboration with Dren Bio.