Focus On Asia

Torrent is recalibrating strategy with the addition of chronic therapies from Dr. Reddy’s while it folds up an unsustainable liquids business in US. The latter resulted in the company reporting a Q4 loss but a timely bonus share issue propped up investor sentiment.

The sharp escalation in prices of raw materials, solvents, excipients and logistics in a volatile operating environment charged by geopolitical tensions and supply chain challenges was one of the key talking points at the fiscal fourth quarter earnings discussions of leading Indian firms. With little hope for respite any time soon, companies are devising strategies to cope.

TiumBio’s CEO shares his experiences as the original developer of hemophilia therapy Afstyla, the reason the rare disease-specialized company is exploring opportunities in Australia, as well as its R&D plans.

Zydus is pivoting to a multivariant version of its plasmid DNA vaccine against COVID-19, ZyCoV-D, after the original didn’t receive an encouraging response. It also looks to launch a Revlimid generic in the second wave while an opportunity might soon emerge from Takeda’s Pentasa.

Chinese biotechs are bracing for lengthy delays as the nation’s unwaveringly stringent restrictions continue to cause barriers to on-site inspections from the US FDA. Hard-hit domestic firms are proposing a "quarantine bubble" like that used during the Beijing Winter Olympics to put back on track the field checks necessary for obtaining biologics approvals.

A missed primary endpoint in new top-line results from a Japanese trial with the stem cell therapy for stroke MultiStem hits Athersys and Japanese partner hard, casting a shadow over ongoing studies. 

China's main pharma hub of Shanghai reported sector output has plunged by more than half due in large part to the prolonged lockdown, while 58% of surveyed foreign companies in China across all industries project declining revenue.

Momentum for Dr Reddy’s in China as a string of approvals including for lenalidomide come through, while it appears to be on an even keel in Russia, a market where several foreign firms have cutback activities in the wake of the Ukraine conflict. Will the Indian firm’s Russia strategy payback?

The head of the US arm of a major Korean government development institute talks to Scrip about why biotechs and pharma firms are flocking to Boston, how the organization is providing support and what the main challenges are.

Junshi’s oral antiviral shows signs of effectiveness in treating patients with mild COVID-19 symptoms but more data are needed, caution researchers.

Jiangsu Hengrui subsidiary Reistone and Shanghai Laekna raise a combined $161m for their innovative candidates.

In light of the Russia-Ukraine conflict, Scrip looks at data to gauge if manufacturing partners for COVID-19 vaccine Sputnik V or Light, in India, China and Korea could be left holding unsold inventory earmarked for exports