Week in Review: A consortium of Chinese drug distributors wants to acquire Poland’s Neuca

Offers and Financing

Chinese drug distributors are on the prowl to acquire Poland’s Neuca, a company with a 32% market share of Poland’s pharmaceutical distribution business. China drug distributor consortium may include Sinopharm (OTCPK:SHTDF), a state-owned company that is the largest distributor and a major producer of medicines in China. As a member of the European Union, a Polish drug distribution company could offer Chinese companies access to the largest market in the EU, although other EU countries are wary of Polish products because their pharmaceutical supervision is less strict than that of the EU. from other countries.

Shanghai CirCode Biomed closed a Series A financing worth “millions of dollars” on Tuesday in a round co-led by Johnson & Johnson Innovation (JJDC) and an undisclosed investor, with participation from Superstring Capital and others (see story). CirCode is developing drugs based on Circular RNA, a single-stranded RNA molecule with a closed circular structure. Founded in 2021, CirCode has raised $30 million in Angel and Pre-A rounds. Earlier this month, CirCode announced a research partnership with Pfizer (PFE) aimed at translating circular RNA technology into viable drug candidates.

Jiangsu Simcere Zaiming Pharma, a subsidiary of Simcere Group (OTCPK:SMHGF), has acquired the rights to commercialize in China an EGFR inhibitor developed by Taizhou Mabtech Pharma, a Mabpharm company. CMAB009 is a recombinant EGFR chimeric monoclonal antibody, currently under NDA review in China as first-line treatment for metastatic colorectal cancer in combination with FOLFIRI. Mabpharm said that the clinical trial results showed a significant therapeutic effect compared to existing anti-EGFR drugs. Simcere is actively acquiring marketing rights to assets developed by other Chinese companies. He owns the rights to Lynk’s JAK1 inhibitor, a proposed therapy for ankylosing spondylitis.

Shanghai CARsgen (OTCPK:CRTHF) will collaborate with Moderna (MRNA) of Boston to test a combination of their Claudin18.2 clinical stage cancer therapies in solid tumor cancers (see story). The pairing will combine CARsgen’s CT041, a Claudin18.2 autologous CAR T cell candidate, with Moderna’s investigational mRNA cancer vaccine Claudin18.2. The two companies will first conduct preclinical testing and then move to a Phase I trial. CT041 is an autologous CAR T-cell candidate that CARsgen is developing for gastric, pancreatic, and other digestive system cancers in multiple ongoing clinical studies in China. and North America.

Tests and Approvals

Suzhou Innovent Biologics (OTCPK:IVBIY) has received approval to launch its anti-PCSK9 monoclonal antibody in China to treat adult patients with primary hypercholesterolemia and mixed dyslipidemia. Sintbilo® (tafolecimab injection), the first domestic PCSK9 inhibitor approved in China, is Innovent’s first drug approved for a cardiovascular indication and its tenth product to be marketed. Sintbilo® is a fully human lgG2 monoclonal antibody that binds to PCSK9. Reduces LDL-C levels by inhibiting PCSK9-mediated low-density lipoprotein receptor (LDLR) endocytosis, which increases LDL-C clearance and reduces LDL-C levels in the blood.

Shanghai Dizal Pharma (SHA: 688192) announced that its lead drug, sunvozertinib, has been approved for use in China as second-line therapy for factor receptor exon 20 insertion locally advanced or metastatic non-small cell lung cancer. growth factor (EGFR) (Exon20ins). mutations. Patients must have progressed after platinum-based chemotherapy. Sunvozertinib is an irreversible EGFR inhibitor discovered by Dizal that targets a broad spectrum of EGFR mutations with selectivity over wild-type EGFR. Dizal was formed as a joint venture with AstraZeneca (AZN) with AstraZeneca assets after the company closed its research and development center in Shanghai.

Jiangsu Hengrui Pharma (SHA: 600276) has received approval to launch an azole antifungal to treat severe vulvovaginal candidiasis, commonly known as yeast infection. Oteseconazole capsules, a new oral therapy, are designed to have greater selectivity, fewer side effects, and greater potency than current treatments. The therapy may also be effective for other systemic fungal infections. In 2019, Hengrui licensed the largest rights in China for oteseconazole capsules from Mycovia Pharma of North Carolina. It signed a standard deal with Mycovia for the rights, including upfront, milestone and royalty payments, though specific details of the deal were not disclosed.

Shanghai HutchMed (HCM) reported that sovleplenib, an oral splenic tyrosine kinase (Syk) inhibitor, met its efficacy endpoints in a pivotal phase III trial in China. Sovleplenib provided a high durable response rate across all secondary endpoints in adult patients with primary immune thrombocytopenia. Sovleplenib is a new selective oral Syk inhibitor that targets hematologic malignancies and immune diseases. Syk is a component of the Fc receptor B cell receptor signaling pathway. ITP, an autoimmune disorder, causes immunologic destruction of platelets and decreased platelet production.

Hangzhou Lynk Pharma announced positive data from a phase II clinical trial of LNK01001, a JAK1 inhibitor, as a therapy for ankylosing spondylitis (AS). Lynk believes that the candidate will offer better results because JAK1 belongs to a subgroup of the cytosolic Janus kinase (JAK) tyrosine kinase family that is closely associated with the pathogenesis of several autoimmune diseases. After 12 weeks of treatment, the high and low dose groups of LNK01001 showed a statistically significant difference in the proportion of patients achieving an ASAS40 response, the primary endpoint of the trial. No specific data was disclosed.

AusperBio announced that its lead drug, an antisense oligonucleotide (ASO) that targets all HBV RNA, has been approved to initiate US trials in patients with chronic hepatitis B. The company says that AHB-137 is potentially the best in its class and highly powerful. -ASO genotypic which has been well tolerated in trials in New Zealand and China. ASO compounds can bind to messenger RNAs (mRNAs) with the goal of inhibiting mRNA translation in inflammatory and neoplastic diseases. The US trial is part of a multiregional placebo-controlled study. AusperBio is headquartered in Hangzhou with additional operations in San Francisco.

Divulgation: none.

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