Deals and Financings
• CICC Capital closed a $229 million investment fund for biologics, with investments coming from China organizations inside and outside the biopharma industry;
• Cyagen Biosciences Suzhou completed a $41 million Series B financing that it will use to expand its genetically modified rodent business;
• Invetx of Boston, an animal health biotech, raised $15 million in a Series A financing from Anterra and two Invetx collaborators, AbCellear and WuXi Biologics;
Trials and Approvals
• Harbour BioMed, a China-US-Dutch biopharma, was approved to start US clinical trials of its next-gen CLTA-4 antibody in patients with solid tumors;
• MapKure, a JV formed by Beijing's BeiGene and US-based SpringWorks, dosed the first patient in an Australian trial of BeiGene's second-gen B-RAF inhibitor;
• Ascentage Pharma of Suzhou is approved to start a China Phase Ib/II clinical trial of a novel small molecule IAP inhibitor that induces apoptosis in pancreatic cancer tumors;
• Harbour BioMed announced US approval of an IND to conduct a Phase II trial of its PD-L1 candidate in patients with nasopharyngeal cancer;
Coronavirus Outbreak
• Harvard University and the Guangzhou Institute of Respiratory Health announced a $115 million, five-year collaboration to fight COVID-19;
• Gilead Sciences started two Phase III clinical trials of remdesivir that will enroll in 1,000 patients with COVID-19;
• WuXi Biologics of Shanghai formed a collaboration with San Francisco's Vir Biotech to develop mAbs that treat COVID-19;
• Ascletis Pharma, a Hangzhou biopharma, started a China trial of its combination of Ganovo®, its approved HCV therapy, and Ritonavir as a COVID-19 treatment
• Moderna shipped its first batch of mRNA-1273, a coronavirus vaccine, for a US Phase I clinical trial scheduled for April;
• Clover Biopharma of Chengdu announced a collaboration to test its COVID-19 vaccine candidate with GSK's pandemic adjuvant system;
• AmCham Shanghai’s Healthcare Committee held a conference call to discuss the impact of the coronavirus epidemic on China's healthcare businesses.
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