Focus On Asia

Two IPOs and 12 venture capital and private equity deals in China raised a combined $1bn in a hectic few weeks of October.

Biocon management signals the potential of its partnered entry with Serum Institute and Adagio Therapeutics into the communicable diseases segment. Continuing large supply opportunities for COVID-19 vaccines and prospects for boosters, alongside the promising profile of the neutralizing antibody being developed by its US-based partner, also bode well.

Early COVID-19 therapies including Gilead’s remdesivir, China-plus procurement policies, vaccine partnerships and a dovish stance by the central bank led to returns on India biotech and healthcare funds outperforming global returns. Meanwhile, funding for e-pharmacies and online consulting firms gathered pace.

Despite administering a total of 2.2 billion COVID-19 shots, China as the first country to experience the coronavirus outbreak has yet to open its borders, while more effective mRNA vaccines are still nowhere to be found amid apparent delays for the licensed-in lead candidate.

Indian firms debut empagliflozin copies ahead of expected patent expiry for diabetes blockbuster Jardiance in the country. Spotlight now on how swiftly Boehringer Ingelheim can fend off the entrants and whether the local challenge goes well beyond “inspiration” from the goings-on in the case of another SGLT2 inhibitor dapagliflozin.

Despite multiple challenges including pricing pressures and slowing general economic growth, China offers attractive opportunities for emerging biopharma firms, helped by an encouraging regulatory environment. But weighing up options around challenging areas including partnering is essential, a new report states. 

After the anti-PD-1/L1 antibody and cell therapy rush, antibody-drug conjugates are quickly gaining attention in China as new technologies and deal-making activity heats up, but one first mover warns of potential over-crowding.

Top executives at leading local and foreign drug firms in India by and large earned more in 2020-21, while differentials in CEO to median employee remuneration remained stark. With increasing scrutiny by shareholders and lawmakers, experts suggest that pharma should be more mindful of balancing “adequate” C-suite compensation and glaring inequalities.

EyeGene R&D head talks to Scrip at CPhI Korea about the development of its COVID-19 vaccine candidate EG-COVID, potential challenges in clinical trials and positioning and the over-riding importance of validating a viable mRNA platform.

A concerted effort to mobilize the pharma industry, research organizations and state-backed healthcare venture capital firms is under way in Shanghai.

The latest development over the licensing arrangement for the anticancer drug may deal a further blow to BeiGene’s oncology commercial efforts in China.

EuBiologics CEO Yeong Ok Baik sat down with Scrip at CPhI Korea to talk about why he wants to develop vaccines for global public health needs and what plans are in store for its late-stage recombinant protein candidate for COVID-19.