BioSpectrum Asia Magazine - February 2023

In this issue

CANCER THERAPEUTICS GAINING GROUND IN APAC
Cancer, the leading cause of death in most parts of the world, is a veritable Achilles heel for the pharma industry. Not surprising that pharma companies continue to dedicate a significant part of their R&D budget for Oncology. Cancer medicine spending rose to $185 billion globally in 2021 and is expected to reach more than $300 billion by 2026, as per IQVIA. China’s oncology spending now exceeds the rest of emerging countries and is driven by expanded access to new therapies
and offset by lower prices. Chinese and other Asian cancer drug developers are at the forefront of driving innovation in this space. The focus of cancer treatment is rapidly shifting from a traditional one-size-fits-all approach to precision medicine, tailored treatments for individual patients. The next wave of innovations making headlines in the cancer space include immunotherapies, vaccines, CAR-T therapies, PD-1/L1 inhibitors, light-activated drugs etc. Many drug makers in Asia are investing in new science and hope to develop the next holy grail in oncology. Let’s take a deep
dive into the status of cancer drug research and development in the Asia Pacific (APAC).

New Zealand approves new therapy to treat rare gastrointestinal stromal tumour

Specialised Therapeutics Asia (ST), based in Singapore, has announced that a new therapy to treat rare gastrointestinal stromal tumour (GIST) shown to improve survival has now been approved in New Zealand.

1 min

Indonesia's TB response gets $300 M programme World Bank loan

The World Bank’s Board of Executive Directors has approved a $300 million loan to the Indonesian government to improve coverage, quality and efficiency of tuberculosis (TB) response in Indonesia.

1 min

SK bioscience's shingles vaccine receives biologics license application approval in Malaysia

SKYZoster is shown clinically acceptable immunogenicity and safety at Phase III clinical trial.

1 min

Mobile app to help adolescents access public health services in Bangladesh

Millions of adolescents and youth in Bangladesh will be able to access health information and services through two online portals launched recently at The National Adolescent Health Conference held in Dhaka.

1 min

Lotte Biologics announces $3 B investment plan to leap forward as global CDMO

Lotte Biologics CEO Richard Wonjik Lee has announced a blueprint to leap forward as a global contract development and manufacturing organisation (CDMO).

1 min

Sun Pharma buys US-based Concert Pharma for $576 M

Sun Pharma’s immediate focus would be to follow Concert’s plan to submit a New Drug Application (NDA) to the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in the first half of 2023.

1 min

Aculys Pharma, Four H initiate collaboration using wearable devices to study sleep disorders in Japan

In its quest to establish a new pharmaceutical model, Aculys is promoting DX (digital transformation) in clinical trials and medicine.

1 min

Terumo and Siemens Healthineers collaborate to strengthen cardiac care in India

The collaboration will flag off its efforts with a customised training programme for Cathlab professionals, being developed in partnership with an eminent academic institute in India.

1 min

Seno Medical enters exclusive distributor agreement with Genetik

Seno Medical, based in the US, has entered into an exclusive distributor agreement with Genetik, to market, sell and service the company’s groundbreaking Imagio Opto-Acoustic/ Ultrasound (OA/US) Breast Imaging System.

1 min

Malaysian Genomics explores R&D collaboration with SIRIM

Under the strategic cooperation, both parties will evaluate the potential commercial value of a range of genomicsdriven biotechnology R&D projects.

1 min

Moderna buys Japanese startup OriCiro for $85M

OriCiro Genomics, founded in December 2018, is focussed on the development and commercialisation of cellfree synthesis

1 min

China's ReLive Biotechnologies strengthens presence in regenerative therapy market

Simultaneously with the acquisition, ReLive also completed its Series A financing of $36 million to fund the company’s global ambition.

1 min

DeepTek introduces new Al powered lumbar spine quantification automation tool

India-based health tech startup DeepTek has announced the global launch of DeepSpine - an artificial intelligence (AI) powered lumbar spine quantification and metrics tool designed to analyse MRI lumbar spine images.

1 min

Veradigm announces strategic investment in Holmusk from Singapore

US-based Veradigm has announced an investment in Holmusk, a global behavioural health real-world evidence and data analytics company in Singapore, as part of Holmusk’s $45 million series B financing round.

1 min

Addressing Unmet Patient Needs in Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR): The Vital Role of Industry Partnerships

Interview- Mr Maurizio Luongo and Mr Zhao Hong

6 mins

CANCER THERAPEUTICS GAINING GROUND IN APAC

Cancer, the leading cause of death in most parts of the world, is a veritable Achilles heel for the pharma industry.

10+ mins

"Technology will play a significant role in reducing numbers of new cases and deaths"

‘Close the care gaps’ – a bold theme set for 2022-2024 World Cancer Day campaigns that fall on February 4 each year – intends to make a huge difference in delivering cancer care to the people.

5 mins

"We need to foster risky projects that can have large rewards"

Synthetic lethality is a promising area of cancer therapy. Anticancer Bioscience (ACB) is a precision oncology company, applying synthetic lethal approaches to develop targeted cancer therapies.

4 mins

"Global investors can leverage our deep immunomics platform to develop TCR Cell therapies for solid tumours"

The global biotech ecosystem continues to fluctuate and pose fresh challenges but many emerging enterprises and technologies are keen to collaborate with other stakeholders to solve healthcare challenges.

5 mins

How Imaging Tech And Liquid Biopsy Will Play Pivotal Role In Cancer Care

A core tenet of precision medicine is to simplify the delivery of the right treatment to the right patient at the right dose and at the right time.

5 mins

"We're dedicated to Multiple Sclerosis with two approved therapies and Evobrutinib currently in phase 3 trial"

Rare diseases remain untreatable globally despite major advances in research that have enabled us to understand their molecular basis, as well as legislation that provides regulatory and economic incentives to encourage their development.

5 mins

"Australia is poised to establish itself as a global life sciences hub"

Synthetic biology markets are experiencing a surge in demand for molecular diagnostics and technological advances in molecular biology, spurring growth in the Assay and Reagent market in Asia Pacific.

4 mins

VALUE is the Trending Word of 2023

The last two years saw a significant leap toward patient-centricity in the pharmaceutical space. although this next iteration will focus on leveraging the industry's growing digital maturity to offer increased patient value while achieving measurable business goals.

5 mins

Goa Institute of Management launches professional certificate programme in healthcare

Goa Institute of Management (GIM) in India has launched a Professional Certificate Programme in Healthcare Management powered by Asia’s largest higher Edtech Company, upGrad.

1 min

Singapore unveils talent development strategy to boost Healthtech and Biotech ecosystem

Considering Singapore’s RIE2025 initiative, SGInnovate’s Helix Immersion Programme will support Singapore’s growing biomedical and biotech companies.

1 min

Rockwell appoints Mariya Prempeh Singapore Country Manager

Rockwell Automation, dedicated to industrial automation and digital transformation across sectors including pharma and healthcare, has appointed Mariya Prempeh as country manager for Singapore, effective immediately.

1 min

Asieris Pharma appoints Dr Linda Wu as Chief Development Officer

Asieris Pharmaceuticals, a China-based biopharma company specialising in discovering, developing and commercialising innovative drugs for the treatment of genitourinary tumours and other related diseases, has announced that Linda Wu, PhD will join Asieris as Chief Development Officer.

1 min

Chaitanya Sarawate steps in as India MD for Wipro GE Health Care

Wipro GE HealthCare has announced the appointment of Chaitanya Sarawate as the Managing Director (MD), Wipro GE HealthCare and President & CEO, GE HealthCare South Asia.

1 min

Former FDA medical device officer joins Pulnovo Medical's scientific advisory board

China-based Pulnovo Medical has announced the appointment of Dr Mingdong Zhang to the company’s Scientific Advisory Board (SAB).

1 min

Dr David John Jeans steps in as HistoIndex's Non-Executive Chairman

Rockwell Automation, dedicated to industrial automation and digital transformation across sectors including pharma and healthcare, has appointed Mariya Prempeh as country manager for Singapore, effective immediately.

1 min

SK Bioscience accelerates global growth strategy by picking talent from Big Pharma

South Korea-based SK bioscience has announced that Richard Kensinger, PhD, former Director and Head of Drug Substance Process Development in SanofiPasteur and former Executive Director of Process Development and Protein Sciences at Affinivax Inc. has joined in ‘SK bioscience USA Inc.’ as Vice President of R&D Project Management. Dr Kensinger is an expert who has been dedicated to biopharmaceutical R&D, working at global companies for more than 20 years.

1 min

Australia turns back the clock on damaged heart tissue

An international team of researchers, led by University of Sydney in Australia, has developed a method to reverse the loss of elasticity of damaged heart tissue following heart attacks.

1 min

Singapore demonstrates quantum recoil, paving way for precise X-ray imaging in healthcare

For the first time since it was proposed over 80 years ago, scientists from Nanyang Technological University, Singapore (NTU Singapore) have demonstrated the phenomenon of \"quantum recoil\", which describes how the particle nature of light has a major impact on electrons moving through materials.

1 min

Korea provides new equation to US FDA for improving drug interaction prediction

The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recommends indirect evaluation of drug interactions using a formula suggested in their guidance first published in 1997, revised in January of 2020, in order to evaluate drug interactions and minimise side effects of having to use more than one type of drugs at once.

1 min

Study in NZ, Australia set to change treatment of children with acute respiratory problems

A world-first Australian and New Zealand (NZ) study is set to change how clinicians treat children with acute respiratory problems, improving best care and potentially saving millions of healthcare dollars, particularly in remote, rural and indigenous communities.

1 min

Shimadzu opens door to biomolecular imaging with new compact MALDI-TOF solution

Japan-headquartered Shimadzu Corporation has announced the release of the world’s smallest MALDI-TOF imaging solution, available as an option on the successful benchtop MALDI-TOF mass spectrometry series: the MALDI-8020 for positive ion analysis and the MALDI-8030, which features a dual-polarity ion source.

1 min

Thermo Fisher unveils CE-IVD marked assay to detect treatment-resistant HIV-1 strains

Thermo Fisher Scientific has announced the launch of its CE-IVD marked Applied Biosystems TaqPath Seq HIV1 Genotyping Kit, a Sanger sequencing-based assay that examines positive samples of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) to identify genetic variants that may resist common antiretroviral therapeutics.

1 min

Qiagen launches EZ2 Connect MDx platform for automated sample processing in diagnostic labs

Qiagen has announced the launch of EZ2 Connect MDx for use in diagnostic laboratories, making the in vitro diagnostic (IVD) platform for automated sample processing available for wide scale use 18 months after being made available for research.

1 min

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BioSpectrum Asia Magazine Description:

BioSpectrum Asia Magazine is a monthly magazine published by MM Activ Sci-Tech Communication in India. It is a leading biotechnology magazine in Asia, covering a wide range of topics related to the biotechnology industry, including:

* Biotechnology news and trends: BioSpectrum Asia covers the latest biotechnology news and trends from India and around the world.
* Biotechnology company profiles and interviews: The magazine profiles leading biotechnology companies in Asia and interviews their CEOs and other top executives.
* Biotechnology research and development: BioSpectrum Asia covers the latest biotechnology research and development from academic institutions and pharmaceutical companies.
* Biotechnology product reviews: The magazine reviews the latest biotechnology products and services.
* Biotechnology industry events: BioSpectrum Asia covers biotechnology industry events from around the world.

BioSpectrum Asia Magazine is a must-read for anyone who wants to stay informed about the latest advances in biotechnology and their potential to impact the world around us.