Latest Biotechnology, Pharmaceutical and Healthcare News from ChinaBio Today

WHO Declares China's H7N9 Flu Crisis Over; Cost was $6.5 Billion

China’s bird flu crisis has been contained, according to UN officials. Closing the live poultry markets in ten provinces seemed to dampen the outbreak. Because there have been no new cases discovered in the two weeks since May 8, officials decl...

Zensun Announces Positive Data from Phase II Trials of Neucardin

Zensun Sci & Tech, Ltd., a Shanghai-San Diego biopharma, reported positive results from four Phase II trials of its lead drug candidate, Neucardin™, a treatment for heart failure. Because of the successful tests, Zensun has filed with the C...

China's Curative Medical to Seek CFDA Approval for ALung's Respiratory Device

Curative Medical will pursue CFDA approval for the Hemolung Respiratory Assist System, a medical device developed by ALung Technologies of Pittsburgh. The Hemolung is an external device that operates much like a dialysis machine. It removes carb...

Curative Medical of China to Seek CFDA Approval for ALung's Medical Device

Curative Medical has been contracted by ALung Technologies, a Pittsburgh respiratory medical device maker, to pursue CFDA approval of ALung’s Hemolung Respiratory Assist System. The Hemolung is an external device that operates much like a dialy...

CFDA Approves Clinical Trials for Novel China AIDS Treatment

A novel treatment for AIDS, developed in the Zhengzhou University labs of Junbiao Chang, PhD, has been approved by the CFDA for human trials. The molecule, which has been in development for ten years, is a reverse transcriptase (RT) inhibito, called...

GSK Says Lowering Prices in China Caused Higher Sales

Want to increase revenues in China? You might try lowering prices. It seems to have worked for GlaxoSmithKline.  In 2009, the company reduced the cost of its allergy treatment, Avamys nasal spray. The number of units sold jumped to five times th...

More Details about Hisun-Pfizer and Merck-Simcere JVs

In 2011, the world’s two largest drugmakers – Pfizer and Merck – each announced major China drug JVs with domestic China pharmas – Hisun in Pfizer’s case and Simcere for Merck. The arrangements were high-profile, and the...

Week in Review: RuiYi Signs Up Shanghai’s Genor to Develop mAb in China

RuiYi Inc., a San Diego-Shanghai biotech, signed an exclusive license with Genor BioPharma of Shanghai to develop RuiYi’s lead molecule in China; RuiYi also enlisted CMC Biologics to develop a cell line for RYI-008; Vectura, a UK maker of inhal...

SciClone Gains China Rights to Zensun’s Heart Failure Drug

SciClone Pharma in-licensed China rights to a heart failure drug from Zensun (Shanghai) Science & Technology Co. SciClone, which is headquartered in the US, usually markets western drugs in China. This time, the company has acquired a China-devel...

BioDuro Opens Second China CRO Lab, This One in Shanghai

BioDuro has opened a new laboratory in Shanghai, complementing its existing facility in Beijing. BioDuro is a China pre-clinical CRO, established in 2005, that serves an international and domestic clientele. It was bought by PPD® in 2009 for $77...

Amgen's New JV Fulfills Promise to Emphasize China

To date, Amgen, the US biotech drug company, has not had a major presence in China. In February of this year, Amgen said it would use a combination of partnerships and M&A to increase its participation in the China market. The first of these rela...

RuiYi and Genor Enter License and Collaboration for Novel mAb

RuiYi Inc., a San Diego-Shanghai biotech startup, has signed an exclusive license and collaboration with Genor BioPharma to develop RuiYi’s lead molecule in China. The drug candidate, RYI-008, is a novel anti-IL-6 monoclonal antibody with poten...

Amgen-Zhejiang Beta China JV to Include R&D, Manufacturing

Last week, Amgen and Zhejiang Beta Pharma announced they would form a JV to bring Amgen’s biologic drugs to China, starting with Amgen’s colon cancer drug Vectibix. Now, an Amgen spokesperson told China Daily the JV will include a China-b...

WuXi PharmaTech Reports Higher Q1; Analyzes Prospects for its Business

WuXi PharmaTech released positive financial results for the first quarter of 2013, as revenues increased 11.7% to $132 million. All sectors of the company’s CRO/CMO business contributed to the climb. In remarks to analysts, Ge Li, the company's...

RuiYi Selects CMC Biologics to Develop Cell Line for mAb

RuiYi Inc., a San Diego-Shanghai pre-clinical stage pharma, has enlisted CMC Biologics to develop a cell line for RYI-008, a novel anti-IL-6 monoclonal antibody. CMC Biologics, which is located in Seattle and Copenhagen, will use its proprietary CHEF...

Vectura and KingYork Form China Respiratory JV

Vectura, a UK maker of inhaled therapies, has established a China JV with two partners: Tianjin KingYork Group Company, a specialist in corticosteroid products, and Zendex Bio Strategy, a Hong Kong private equity investor. The JV, which will be named...

The Week in Review: Sagent Buys Out China JV Partner for $25 Million

Sagent Pharma, a US generic injectible drugmaker, will pay $25 million to acquire its partner’s 50% interest in a China manufacturing JV; ScinoPharm Taiwan and Coland Holdings formed a partnership to bring generic oncology drugs to mainland Chi...

ScinoPharm and Coland to Develop Oncology Drugs for China

ScinoPharm Taiwan and Coland Holdings have formed an alliance to bring generic oncology drugs to mainland China. The alliance has selected several of ScinoPharm’s APIs for development as injectible treatments. A third party will develop and man...

Zhejiang Beta Pharma Forms JV with Amgen

Zhejiang Beta Pharma and Amgen will form a joint venture to commercialize Amgen's Vectibix® (panitumumab) in China. Vectibix is a treatment for colorectal cancer. In addition to being experienced with targeted therapies, Zhejiang Beta also has a...

Hutchison Chi-Med in Partner Talks for Cancer Drug

Hutchison Chi-Med expects to license global rights to fruqintinib, one of its novel small-cell cancer drugs, before year-end, according to CEO Christian Hogg. The company has been in due diligence discussions with potential partners, he added. Becaus...

Zhejiang Huahai and Oncobiologics Sign Biosimilar Pact

Zhejiang Huahai Pharma has joined with Oncobiologics, a New Jersey biologics startup, to form a partnership that will develop, manufacture and promote biosimilars. Huahai will have exclusive rights to make and market four Oncobiologics-developed bios...

Leadman to Distribute IDS’s Diagnostic Products in China

Beijing Leadman Biochemistry Technology Co. will be the exclusive distributor in China for Immunodiagnostic Systems Holdings’ IDS-iSYS analyzer and assays. Headquartered in Great Britain, IDS considers itself a world leader in bone, cartilage a...

Teva's CEO Thinks China is a “Natural Fit”

Teva Pharmaceutical, the world’s largest generic drug manufacturer and one of the world’s fifteen largest pharmas, does not have a substantial presence in China. But the company’s CEO, Jeremy Levin, believes China is a natural fit f...

Sagent Pharma Pays $25 Million to Buy out China JV Partner

Sagent Pharmaceuticals, a Chicago-area maker of generic injectable drugs, will acquire its partner’s 50% interest in a China JV for $25 million. Chengdu Kanghong Pharmaceuticals owned the other half of the JV, which was established in 2006 to b...

Want Success in China? Find an experienced Chinese Partner

With the ChinaBio® Partnering Forum 2013 less than a month away, EBD interviewed Greg Scott, president of ChinaBio about its consulting services. “In China, unless you have deep resources, it is difficult to come and do everything yourself,...