Last week witnessed the formation of an unusually high number of partnerships involving China. WuXi PharmaTech will partner with Covance on WuXi's Suzhou toxicology lab; the US and China will apply scientific research methods to traditional Chinese medicines; Pacific Biopharma combines three entities in a JV that will manufacture small batches of biological drugs; Krka invested in two China pharmaceutical companies; BioAlliance Pharma sold the China rights for Loramyc™ to NovaMed Pharma; Oculus will use Bayer (Sichuan) to gain approval of Microcyn in animals; Microbix Biosystems and the Hunan government will build a large vaccine facility; Yunnan Baiyao Group bought the remaining 49% of Lijiang Medicine Co.; Bayer AG expects to be the biggest seller of prescription drugs in China this year; and we published a report from the BIO convention on VC investment in Asia.  More details... 

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Last week, much of the news about China’s biomedical industry came from San Diego’s BIO Convention. We covered the “Opportunities for Collaborations and Investments" panel discussion and the pre-convention “Burrill India-China Life Sciences Meeting,” which examined the bilateral relationship between China biomedical companies and the West.
In China last week, the FDA announced it will open three offices in China; three new joint ventures were unveiled, including one between
Alpharma (NYSE: ALO)and Zhejiang Hisun Pharma (SHSE: 600267) to manufacture Vancomycin, a JV formed by Immtech (AMEX: IMM) and Beijing Capital Medical University (BCMU) to provide contract research services (CRS) in China, and a third between Cordium Links and an unnamed entity to provide cardiac safety monitoring for China clinical trials; and finally, China Sky One Medical (AMEX: CSY) received SFDA approval for an additional four products.  More detail...

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Japan-based Daiichi Sankyo will buy a majority stake in Ranbaxy, the largest generic drug maker in India; China Sky One Medical will pay $7.1 million for Peng Lai Jin Chuang Company; WuXi PharmaTech and AstraZeneca will extend their collaboration for another three years; Hong Kong University researchers discovered a three-drug cocktail that is effective against avian flu; a large clinical trial showed a traditional Chinese medicine produced positive results in heart attack patients; Mindray Medical was granted  510(k) clearance for two new products; Sinovac received an earthquake-related 80,000 dose order for its Bilive vaccine; and China Medical Technologies reported a  67% increase in its full-year 2007 financial results.  More details...

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A new drug scandal involving immunoglobulin showed China drug surveillance has now attained world-class standards; Asymchem Labs said the recent heparin scandal caused biopharmas to centralize their API sourcing in well-known firms; Access Pharma out-licensed the China rights for its cancer drug ProLindac™ to Jiangsu Aosaikang Pharmaceutical; NewBiomed PIKA sold the China rights for its adjuvant vaccine technology to Yunnan Walvax Biotech; Shanghai Biochip will use Qiagen’s siRNA libraries to establish a siRNA high-throughput screening center; China Sky One Medical received SFDA approval for five new patch products; American Oriental announced a $75 million stock buyback and then a $125 million convertible preferred stock offering which it quickly rescinded; and Genesis Pharmaceuticals placed $30 million in three-year convertible notes. More details... 

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WuXi PhamaTech released positive Q1 results though revenues from the recent AppTec acquisition were below plan; the Q1 results for Tongjitang Chinese Medicines were lower than last year's first quarter; China Pharma Holdings completed a $10 million secondary offering; American Oriental Bioengineering has made $16 million in prepayments for acquisitions; 3SBio will seek approval for and then market an AMAG Pharma iron replacement therapy; Essex Bio-Technology signed a similar deal with InSite Visions for an antiseptic eye drop; Sinovac Biotech received a special $2.9 million order for its hepatitis a vaccine Healive®; and Kiwa Bio-Tech Products will form a JV to develop an anti-viral spray for veterinary use. More details...

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China Yongxin Pharmaceuticals Inc. completed its previously announced reverse merger with Nutradyne Group; the two China-based minority participants in the Shanghai Schering-Plough JV will put their 45% stake up for sale; Lotus Pharmaceutical reported improved Q1 financial results; China Sky One will migrate to the American Stock Exchange; Calando Pharmaceuticals was granted a China patent for RNA interference drugs; Suven Life Sciences Ltd. was granted patents in China for two new chemical entities; China Sky One Medical, Inc. won approval for two new drugs; Oculus Innovative Sciences announced commercialization plans for its Microcyn® wound treatment products in China; and Tongjitang Chinese Medicines Company said its manufacturing facility was back on line following the earthquake.  More details... 

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GenePharma, a young and growing private company in the hot siRNA market, was the subject of a profile in ChinaBio® Today that included an exclusive interview with CEO Dr. Peter Zhang; four China-based biopharmas disclosed positive Q1 financial reports last week including China Sky One, Sinovac Biotech, 3SBio and China Medicine Corp.; Simcere Pharma received SFDA approval for a first-to-market generic antibiotic; Sinobiomed will begin a Phase II trial of its malaria vaccine candidate; Tianyin Pharma won official tenders in four China provinces for a TCM; and the China earthquake compromised water quality in a Tongjitang Chinese Medicines Company facility.  More details...  

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China-based biopharmas reported higher Q1 revenues and profits last week: American Oriental Bioengineering, Mindray Medical, and Simcere Pharmaceutical all started off the year with new levels of performance. The SFDA will introduce rules to shorten the wait for IND rulings for innovative drugs, Venturepharm Asia, revealed plans to build two labs in Jiangsu province, WuXi PharmaTech postponed a secondary stock offering, GlaxoSmithKline created a new division to focus on emerging markets, BMP Sunstone received clearance to begin human trials of Enablex®, and Takara Bio Inc. began testing a cancer immunotherapy in China. More details...

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Zero2IPO published its quarterly figures on venture capital in China, showing that investment in the Biotech/Healthcare sector jumped 33% in the first quarter to $67 million; Frontage Laboratories announced it received $10 million to expand its China operations; Tigermed joined the CRO Service Alliance of Shanghai; Bio-Bridge bought a 51% stake in Xinheng Baide Biotechnology, a manufacturer of bovine serum; China Biologic Products, Inc. received two critical SFDA approvals for coagulants; Novo Nordisk donated a license for its small molecule library to the National Center for Drug Screening (NCDS); and China Pharma Holdings reported large increases in earnings and revenues.  More details...

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China biopharma news was dominated last week by articles about investment in China facilities for drug development. Genzyme committed $90 million to building an R&D center in Beijing; Unigene Laboratories and Shijiazhuang Pharmaceutical formed a JV to manufacture osteoporosis treatment calcitonin; Changzhou Tongtai Biopharmaceutical, a startup company, is being launched with $10 million to develop a modern rabies vaccine; Simcere Pharmaceutical acquired a second cancer drug by taking a 70% position in Wuhu Zhong Ren Pharmaceutical; the Beijing Genomics Institute expanded its capacity to sequence genes by purchasing 11 additional Genome Anlyzers from Illumina; Lotus Pharma reported its 2007 revenues increased 57% while net profits climbed 34%; and finally, Aida Pharma said its recent purchase of Shanghai Qiaer has yielded a second anti-cancer compound.  More details...

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