Phil Taylor

Just over a year after its first-round financing, Locus Bio has signed up J&J as its first big pharma partner, pocketing a $20 million upfront fee.

China’s Antengene has raised another $120 million in a second-round financing, with partner Celgene contributing to the tally.

After halting phase 3 trials for its APL-2 drug in geographic atrophy on safety concerns, Apellis says it will restart the program next year.

While 2018 was a big year for Chinese R&D on the whole, the sector hit the headlines for the wrong reasons.

Chugai has the phase 3 data it needs to file IL-6-targeting antibody satralizumab for approval in neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorder next year.

Sophiris will push its lead drug topsalysin into phase 3 testing, though a second dose showed no additional benefit in its prostate cancer trial.

Imugene says its HER2 vaccine hit the mark in a phase 1b trial, setting up a phase 2 study that will start recruiting patients in the new year.

Bellicum has the first data on BPX-601, a CAR-T with a built-in activation switch to boost its effects, and says it shows signs of biologic activity.

Amag Pharma has struck a merger deal with Perosphere, adding an anticoagulant reversal agent in midstage trials to its emerging hematology business.

Applied Genetic Technologies’ $1 billion-plus gene therapy pact with Biogen has been torn up after their lead candidate failed a phase 1/2 trial.