Deals and Financings

Sichuan Kelun-Biotech will partner seven preclinical antibody-drug conjugate assets with Merck (NYSE: MRK) in a deal that pays Kelun-Biotech $175 million upfront and up to $9.3 billion in milestones (see story). It is the third ADC deal between the two companies this year. In May, Kelun-Biotech out-licensed a TROP-2 ADC for $1.3 billion ($47 million upfront) and then, two months later, sold rights for two ADCs in a $936 million deal ($35 million upfront). Altogether, that totals around $12.7 billion overall with $257 million upfront. Also, Merck made an investment of undisclosed size in Kelun-Biotech as part of the latest agreement. 

LianBio (NSDQ: LIAN), a Princeton-Shanghai in-licensing company, announced that Pfizer will exercise an option to develop and commercialize a novel respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) therapy candidate in Greater China (NYSE: PFE) (see story). Sisunatovir is an oral fusion inhibitor designed to block RSV replication. LianBio will receive $20 million upfront and up to $135 million in milestones plus royalties. Two years ago, LianBio and Pfizer formed a collaboration to develop novel products for China, with ReViral’s sisunatovir the first candidate. LianBio acquired China rights to the candidate from ReViral in early 2021. 

Israel’s Biomica, a clinical-stage microbiome biopharma, signed a $20 million funding agreement led by Shanghai Healthcare Capital (SHC), a fund managed by SIIC Capital with Shanghai Pharma one of the founding Limited Partners (see story). Biomica will use the capital to complete a Phase I trial of its lead candidate and prepare a second candidate for clinical trials. The company is developing microbiome therapies for antibiotic resistant bacteria, immuno-oncology and gastrointestinal disorders. Biomica develops microbiome-based therapeutics using its Computational Predictive Biology platform (CPB), licensed from its corporate parent, Evogene (NSDQ: EVGN). 

Staidson Beijing BioPharma (SHZ: 300204) entered a $10 million agreement with Germany’s InflaRx (NSDQ: IFRX) for rights to an InflaRx C5a mAb for severe COVID-19 (see story). STS previously in-licensed China rights to a similar C5a mAb, an anti-inflammatory complement drug, from InflaRx. Now, it has China rights to BDB-001 (vilobelimab), which originated from the same cell line, plus rights to use InflaRx’s clinical, manufacturing and regulatory documentation for vilobelimab to speed China approval of BDB-001 as a therapy for severe COVID-19. 

TenNor Therapeutics (Suzhou) closed a $10 million Series D+ round to support its multi-targeting drug conjugate products for bacterial infections and dysbiosis (see story). The company is developing six candidates including three that are ready to start Phase III trials. Its late-stage products target medical device-associated bacterial biofilm infections, cirrhosis encephalopathy and Helicobacter pylori infection. Earlier this year, TenNor completed a $38 million Series D funding. The latest capital raise included investors BCT Capital, Borun Investment and Yanchuang Capital. 

Shenzhen XtalPi, an AI company, formed a strategic collaboration with Singapore’s Experimental Drug Development Centre (EDDC) to discover novel candidates for non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) (see story). EDDC will specify the target. XtalPi will apply its quantum physics and AI-driven platform to generate and screen millions of molecules in de novo drug design. EDDC is Singapore's national platform for drug discovery/development hosted by the Agency for Science, Technology and Research of Singapore (A*STAR). 

Trials and Approvals

Shanghai IASO Biotherapeutics was approved to start US trials of its BCMA CAR-T (equecabtagene autoleucel) in patients with relapsed/refractory multiple myeloma (R/R MM) (see story). It is IASO’s first US trial approval. In a China Phase I/II trial of CT103A, the objective response rate was 95% at the 9 month follow up, and 92% of patients showed at least one reading of minimal residual disease (MRD). Earlier this year, CT103A receive Orphan Drug Designation in the US for multiple myeloma. IASO is focused on CAR-T therapies for cancer and autoimmune indications. 

Kira Pharma, a Boston/Suzhou biopharma focused on immune diseases, has been green-lighted to start China-Australia Phase II trials of a bifunctional molecule that targets the alternative and terminal complement pathways (see story). KP104, Kira’s lead drug, is a first-in-class biologic that will be tested in patients with complement-associated renal disorders including IgA nephropathy (IgAN) and complement 3 glomerulopathy (C3G). Both conditions often lead to renal disease. Kira believes KP104’s dual-target mechanism will offer better results than single-target complement agents. 

Disclosure: none.