The Weekly Roundup newsletter curates the top five - deals, pipeline, funding, and news from the past week.

The complete list is available here: Industry Updates

🤝Deals and Collaborations

Let's kick off this section with ABVC Biopharma. They've just inked a deal with Xinnovation Therapeutics, out-licensing the China rights for two of its neurologic therapies. The drugs in question, ABV-1504 and ABV-1505, are both plant-based, clinical-stage norepinephrine transporter inhibitors. Xinnovation is set to shoulder all clinical studies in China while ABVC is set to receive royalty payments that could reach a hefty $50 million per year.

Next up is CASI Pharma, a Maryland-Beijing biopharma firm, which has acquired China distribution rights to Folotyn® from Mundipharma International. Folotyn® is a dihydrofolate reductase inhibitor approved in both China and the US for relapsed or refractory peripheral T-cell lymphoma. This move aligns perfectly with CASI's focus on therapies for hematological cancers and areas of unmet medical need.

On to the next exciting collaboration: Grünenthal and Kyowa Kirin have successfully completed a deal to enter into a Joint Venture Collaboration. The JV includes a portfolio of 13 brands across six therapeutic areas, with pain management medicines making up the majority of the revenue. The new enterprise will be branded as Grünenthal Meds, with Grünenthal owning a 51% majority share and planning to acquire the remaining share at the beginning of 2026.

Meanwhile, Amarin Corporation and Lotus Pharmaceuticals have entered into a long-term exclusive partnership to distribute and commercialize Vazkepa in Southeast Asia and South Korea. Vazkepa, a prescription treatment comprising icosapent ethyl, is used to reduce cardiovascular risk and has already been approved and commercialized in various global markets.

Finally, Oramed Pharma and Hefei Tianhui are planning to form a joint venture that will commercialize Oramed's oral drug delivery products. The JV, which is subject to signing a binding definitive agreement, will focus on the global commercialization of innovative products based on Oramed's oral insulin and POD™ (Protein Oral Delivery) pipeline. Hefei Tianhui is expected to invest $60 million in the JV, while Oramed will contribute $10 million.

⏫ Pipeline and Approvals

Starting off, Taiho Pharmaceutical and Taiho Oncology. have announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved LONSURF® (trifluridine/tipiracil) for the treatment of adult patients with metastatic colorectal cancer (mCRC). The approval is for the usage of LONSURF as a single agent or in combination with bevacizumab, a drug used to treat various cancers.

Meanwhile, Zydus Lifesciences has also received the green light from the US health regulator to manufacture and market its generic Indomethacin suppositories. The drug is indicated for moderate to severe rheumatoid arthritis and is expected to bring more affordable treatment options to patients.

Over in Asia, Astellas Pharma's Zolbetuximab has been accepted for review in China for the treatment of CLDN18.2 Gastric Cancer. While still in the review stage, this represents a significant step towards bringing a new treatment option to patients in China.

A new drug, Ztalmy, has been approved by the European Commission for seizures associated with CDKL5 deficiency. This is a major advancement as there are currently limited treatment options for this rare genetic disorder.

Lastly, the FDA has approved Harm Reduction Therapeutics' over-the-counter RiVive naloxone nasal spray. This spray is a life-saving medication that can rapidly reverse an opioid overdose, and its approval will help make it widely available in the United States.

💰 Funding

Starting our funding roundup is TytoCare, a company offering a virtual care solution enhanced by proprietary devices. They've just announced the closure of an oversubscribed $105 million crossover financing round. The funding, co-led by new investors Foresite Capital and TCGX, will be used to expand the company’s chronic care offerings and portfolio of diagnostic tools. TytoCare plans to break even within several years, with an eye on a future public offering or other strategic options.

Next up is CG Oncology, a company focused on bladder-saving therapeutics for patients with urologic cancer. They've raised a significant $105 million in an oversubscribed crossover financing round. This funding will be used to advance late-stage clinical programs in bladder cancer towards FDA approval, aiming to deliver potential new treatment options that could elevate the standard of care in this difficult-to-treat patient population.

Solu Therapeutics, a precision-medicine company, recently raised $31 million in seed financing. These funds will be used to develop the Cytotoxicity Targeting Chimera (CyTaC) platform and drug candidates. With new investors like Santé Ventures and Longwood on board, the company is set to break new grounds in the development of antibody-intractable cell surface targets and next-generation medicines.

Xinkanghe Biomedical, also known as Kanova Biopharma, raised $14 million in a Series B+ round to advance its immunology programs. The funding will be used for the development of first-in-class therapeutic antibodies or innovative combination therapies to treat cancer and autoimmune diseases.

Lastly, Ryvu Therapeutics, a Polish biopharmaceutical company, has signed a financing deal worth PLN 62.3 million ($16.5 million). The funds will be used to advance the development of its selective small molecule inhibitors of protein arginine methyltransferase 5 (PRMT5) in its preclinical and clinical programs.

📰 Interesting News

Starting with a fun one for all the bookworms out there, Labiotech has curated a list of the top biotech books every science lover should read. From thrilling science fiction to eye-opening discoveries and thought-provokers, the list includes 45 books that span a variety of topics in the biotech sphere. Whether you fancy getting lost in a dystopian thriller by Jeff VanderMeer or exploring the moral and ethical dilemmas of redesigning life with 'The Genesis Machine', there's something for every biotech enthusiast.

Moving to a more serious note, Forbes recently highlighted that South Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa have the highest anemia cases. Anemia, a condition marked by a deficiency of red cells or of hemoglobin in the blood, is more prevalent among women than men. While approximately 444 million men are anemic, 825 million women were diagnosed with the condition. The highest prevalence is among women and children residing in South Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa.

Meanwhile, BioCentury reported that the polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) pipeline is tiny but diverse. PCOS is a major cause of infertility with hormone imbalances that can be masculinizing. It can also predispose women to obesity and insulin resistance. The condition has seen little interest from drug developers, but a small set of disclosed programs suggests the indication is on the radar of at least a few companies.

In other news, Evaluate Vantage featured an important spotlight on Nash in 2023 and beyond. With the mid-stage Nash pipeline playing host to mechanisms both evidence-backed and unproven, with plenty of data on the horizon, the article provides valuable insights into what the future might hold for this field.

Finally, Politico reported a thought-provoking piece on why Big Pharma might think twice about running away to America. The article discusses the impact of major drug pricing crackdowns in the US and the EU on drug companies’ bottom lines. With uncertainty on both sides of the Atlantic, companies will just have to weather the policy storm.