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The Week in Review: East/West Biopharma Alliances

publication date: Sep 18, 2010
 | 
author/source: Richard Daverman, PhD
Johnson & Johnson (NYSE: JNJ) is using “external innovation” in China as a low-cost, inventive path to discover new drugs (see story). "We have to seek the best science and technology,” said Lily Lee, PhD, vice-president and head of JNJ Pharmaceutical R&D Asia, at a recent Shanghai biopharma meeting. "We are especially interested in oncology, infectious diseases and metabolic areas, so M&As in these areas will be high on our radar screen," she continued.

Merck (NYSE: MRK) has signed a letter of intent with BGI (formerly the Beijing Genomics Institute) that will “initiate and develop a working relationship,” according to the press release (see story). However, citing anonymous sources, Bio-IT World says this innocuous wording greatly understates the depth of the collaboration, which it calls “substantive, wide-ranging and long-term.”

Novo Nordisk (NYSE: NVO) will expand its Beijing R&D center from 100 employees currently to 200 by 2015 (see story). The expansion will create a new Diabetes Research Unit, capable of performing all stages of drug development. At the same time, the company said it expects its China sales to grow at the same 20% annual rate as China healthcare spending, which will take its revenues in China to $1.75 billion by 2015.

Shanghai Institute of Materia Medica (SIMM), a Chinese Academy of Sciences affiliate, has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Oslo Cancer Cluster (OCC), a leading Norwegian research and industry oncology cluster (see story). The two groups will work toward accelerating development of new cancer therapies.

Yunnan Walvax Biotechnology, a company that specializes in human vaccines, will IPO on the Shenzhen ChiNext Exchange (see story). Although most financial details were not released, the company did say it would issue 25 million new shares, bringing its share count up to 100 million.

China Cord Blood Corporation (NYSE: CO) said it has signed a “framework agreement” that will eventually culminate with CCBC owning a 90% interest in the Zhejiang Provincial Blood Center (see story). CCBC will invest 45 million RMB ($6.6 million) in the venture, while the center will contribute its license and physical assets.

China Cord Blood also announced that it will offer holders of warrants the opportunity to exchange one ordinary share for every eight warrants (see story). The warrants are due to expire on December 13, 2010, just three months from now. At present, each warrant entitles the holder to buy one share at $5. No financial terms were announced. As China Cord Blood’s shares are currently trading at $4, close to a year-low, the warrants do not have much value currently.

Bohai Pharmaceuticals (OTCBB: BOPH), a TCM pharmaceutical company, said it has added five marketed products to its portfolio so far this year, bringing its total to ten (see story). Bohai holds the rights to produce another 14 TCM formulations in China. Bohai completed its reverse merger earlier this year and reported $45 million in revenue for the first nine months of fiscal 2010.


Disclosure: none.










 

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