Deals and Financings

Eluminex Biosciences, a Suzhou ophthalmic biotech startup, closed a $50 million Series A Financing from Lilly Asia Ventures, Hillhouse's GL Ventures and Quan Capital (see story). The company will discover and develop first-in-class and/or best-in-class therapies that address unmet vision-threatening diseases for global markets. Further details were not disclosed. Eluminex's headquarters and R&D facility are located in Suzhou, its business center is in Shanghai, and a global clinical and registration center is planned for the San Francisco Bay Area.  

Beijing Gene+, a company using next-gen sequencing for oncology diagnostics, raised $38 million in a Series B round (see story). Gene+ has developed NGS and genetic big data platforms to support four major businesses: clinical testing, medical equipment, scientific-technological cooperation and early tumor screening. In 2019, the company announced its domestically produced sequencers, kits and supporting software were all certified for use in China. Its first funding was led by China sequencing company BGI.  

PreGene, a Shenzhen biotech, closed a $21 million B financing as it looks forward to an IPO on the Hong Kong exchange (see story). The funding was led by Haier Biomedical. PreGene  claims to have the world's only fusion drug and nano-antibody drug biotechnology R&D platform. Founded in 2012, PreGene is also developing TCR-T, CAR-T and stem cell candidates. Its BCMA CAR-T candidate is approved to start clinical trials in China.  

Genetron Health (NSDQ: GTH), a Beijing-North Caroline diagnostic company, announced a city-wide early screening test for liver cancer in Wuxi city using the company's blood-based HCCscreen^TM (see story). The initiative will administer 150,000 tests over three years in patients who are at high risk for developing liver cancer. In clinical trials, the HCCscreen has shown a 92% sensitivity and 93% selectivity. The city-wide initiative is led by Wuxi's municipal government and administered by China's National Cancer Center.  

COVID-19 Pandemic 

Sinopharm has filed for China approval of at least one of its two COVID-19 inactivated vaccines based on initial data from a global Phase III trial, according to a Bloomberg report (see story). However, an unnamed company official disputed that the filing has actually been completed. In any case, it seems that Sinopharm is close to a submission following clinical trials in South America and Middle East countries that enrolled 50,000 volunteers. So far, the company has not released data from the Phase III trials, though it said two weeks ago the vaccine "beat expectations."  

Trials and Approvals 

Bio-Thera Solutions (SHA: 688177) of Guangzhou filed for European approval of its Avastin^® (bevacizumab) biosimilar including all Avastin indications (see story). Bevacizumab is a humanized mAb that targets vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF). The submission of BAT1706 is Bio-Thera's first MAA/BLA filing outside of China. Previously, the company was approved to market its Humira^® (adalimumab) biosimilar, Qletli^® in China for rheumatoid arthritis and other autoimmune diseases.

Suzhou Ascentage Pharma (HK: 6855) said its novel Bcl-2 inhibitor was approved to start two China Phase Ib/II clinical trials: one in Waldenström macroglobulinemia (WM), and the other one in multiple myeloma (MM) (see story). APG-2575 is designed to treat hematologic malignancies by selectively blocking Bcl-2 to restore the normal apoptosis process in cancer cells. The candidate has started multiple trials in China and Australia. The WM Phase Ib/II trial will be a global multicenter test with centers in Australia, China and the US.

Company News

The China biosimilar JV formed by Changchun High & New Technology and Iceland's Alvotech has signed up Yangtze River Pharma to commercialize their eight biosimilar candidates in China (see story). The JV, CAHT, will manufacture the products. CAHT is developing biosimilar candidates for autoimmunity, ophthalmology, and oncology diseases, plus immune and inflammatory conditions. Established in 2019, CAHT was funded with $110 million in capital at a $200 million valuation.

Disclosure: none.