Plus transactions involving Nissan Chemical/Sanwa Kagaku, Memel/Therabest, Chugai/Alnylam, Takeda/Kumquat, Nxera/Handok, 3SBio/CStone and deals in brief.

Pipeline Watch is a weekly snapshot of selected late-stage clinical trial events and approvals announced by pharmaceutical and biotech companies at medical and industry conferences, in financial and company presentations, and in company releases and statements.

Emerging Company Profile: The eight-year-old vaccine firm is planning clinical trials in the Philippines and Brazil to see how its synthetic viral peptide vaccine technology stands up against coronaviruses and dengue fever.

Private Company Edition: First quarter data again confirm fewer but larger VC rounds in Q1. Big Q2 rounds include a $132.5m series C round for Endeavor Biomedicines, a $103m series A round for Reunion Neuroscience and Enlaza’s $100m series A.

Aiming to help create China’s first original treatment for under-researched rare diseases, the Hope for Rare Foundation is racing against a funding crunch to support translational research in China, its co-founder and secretary-general tells Scrip in an interview.

Zenas BioPharma plans to have data from four trials – two under way and two starting this summer – for obexelimab, which targets CD19 and FcγRIIb, within about a year and a half.

The attraction of listing in the US for innovative companies is clear but the heads of the Swiss Biotech Association tell Scrip that start-ups should remember the advantages of playing at home and not waste too much energy and time on worrying about being on the NASDAQ.

In this video interview, Sharon Chan, vice-president, Johnson & Johnson Innovation – JLABS Asia Pacific, shares her views on what South Korea’s strengths are as a biotech and medtech R&D hub, JLABS's plans in the country and what role it wants for its local activities domestically and beyond.

Pfizer/BioNTech’s COVID-19 vaccine Comirnaty toppled after recording the highest ever annual sales for a pharmaceutical in 2022, while Novo Nordisk’s Ozempic climbed rapidly. But Merck & Co’s immuno-oncology blockbuster Keytruda was secure in the number one spot in 2023 as COVID-19 receded.

The highs of the COVID-19 era, and the lows that supplanted it, are beginning to fade.

A year is a long time in biopharma. Pharmaprojects’ annual pipeline review finds changes in the therapeutic spread of drug candidates and a reordering of the top R&D companies, as Chinese firms made their presence felt all the more over the past 12 months.

A look at the depth of clinical responses seen with various MASH therapies suggests that Madrigal could eventually face serious competition.

Plus transactions involving Nissan Chemical/Sanwa Kagaku, Memel/Therabest, Chugai/Alnylam, Takeda/Kumquat, Nxera/Handok, 3SBio/CStone and deals in brief.

Teva reported positive Phase III data for a long-acting version of olanzapine for schizophrenia, coinciding with its first quarter sales and earnings release.

Early-stage companies pioneering new modalities discussed the future of cardiometabolic therapy and partnering with big pharma at the LSX conference in London.

The voluntary withdrawal of the license for the UK major's COVID-19 vaccine is due to a surplus of available updated jabs from other companies that target new variants and is not connected to the mis- and disinformation being peddled on the internet and elsewhere on very rare adverse events.

Aiming to help create China’s first original treatment for under-researched rare diseases, the Hope for Rare Foundation is racing against a funding crunch to support translational research in China, its co-founder and secretary-general tells Scrip in an interview.

IQVIA’s latest usage and spending trends report forecasts US obesity market will grow to $35bn by 2028, while the two leading GLP-1 agonists have already posted eye-popping sales growth.

Zenas BioPharma plans to have data from four trials – two under way and two starting this summer – for obexelimab, which targets CD19 and FcγRIIb, within about a year and a half.

The Sweden-headquartered biotech has emphasized the promising survival data in a head and neck cancer study of setanaxib rather than the NOX inhibitor’s inability to shrink tumors.

Hanmi’s head of new product development elucidated the leading Korean pharma firm’s digital healthcare strategy at a recent domestic forum, including plans for the country’s first medicine/DTx combo, and shared views on what is needed to improve the domestic regulatory and market environment.

In this week's podcast edition of Five Must-Know Things: Japan’s Ono buys US oncology firm; strong growth but supply issues for Lilly; Novo and Lilly make their money work; BMS cuts jobs, costs; and Big Pharma’s support for bioventures.

Already in Phase III for PAH, Gossamer said it can take seralutinib into Phase III for PH-ILD at least four years earlier than planned under its alliance with respiratory disease expert Chiesi.

Pipeline Watch is a weekly snapshot of selected late-stage clinical trial events and approvals announced by pharmaceutical and biotech companies at medical and industry conferences, in financial and company presentations, and in company releases and statements.