Taiwan Liposome (TW: 4152), a company developing extended-release delivery of known drugs, filed for a $50 million IPO on the NASDAQ exchange (see story). The company is already listed in Taiwan, where it has a market capitalization of $198 million. TLC has a portfolio of four candidates in clinical development in Taiwan, China and the US. Last month, TWC formed a Hong Kong JV with Jixi Pharma that will market TLC's drugs in China. Jixi invested $20 million for a minority stake in the JV and will add up to $130 million to support the JV's operations.  

Everest Medicines, a US-China startup, in-licensed greater China rights to an antibiotic for serious multi-drug resistant infections from Boston's Tetraphase Pharma (Nasdaq: TTPH) (see story). Everest made a $7 million upfront payment and will pay up to $16.5 million in regulatory milestones. It is also responsible for annual sales milestones of as much as $20 million. Formed last year, Everest is backed by a $50 million investment from C-Bridge Capital, a capital contribution that was described as the first tranche of a $130 million initial round.

Fosun International (HK: 0656), the parent of Shanghai Fosun Pharma (SHA: 600196; HK: 2196), formed a strategic life science collaboration with the UK's Arix Bioscience (LSE: ARIX) (see story). Arix, a publicly owned company, considers itself an accelerator, offering investment capital and advice to biopharmas at any stage of development, though it seems to emphasize investing in very young companies and helping them find additional capital. Fosun will make investments alongside Arix in selected companies, and it will be Arix's commercialization partner in China. One year ago, Arix raised $127 million in a London IPO.

STA Pharma, the small-molecule drug manufacturing division of CRO WuXi AppTec, will collaborate with San Diego's Regulus Therapeutics (NSDQ: RGLS) to synthesize oligonucleotides for research and mid-scale non-GMP/GMP manufacturing (see story). Regulus will provide STA with its expertise in oligonucleotide scale-up, while STA will become Regulus's partner for development and manufacturing of its preclinical and clinical microRNA-targeting drugs.  

Trials and Approvals

Suzhou's MabSpace Biosciences reports its lead candidate, MSB2311, a second-gen PD-L1 candidate, has been approved to start US clinical trials (see story). The company plans a first-in-human study of MSB2311 in patients with locally advanced or metastatic solid tumors. MabSpace filed for China IND approval of the molecule in October 2017. With its proprietary drug discovery program, MabSpace has formed several partnerships with other China-connected novel drug developers, though it continues to hold worldwide rights to MSB2311.  

JHL Biotech, a Taiwan-China biosimilar company, received approval to begin a European (Bulgaria) Phase I trial of an Avastin biosimilar (see story). JHL will conduct a three-arm pharmacokinetic study of JHL1149 in Bulgaria among healthy volunteers beginning March 2018. According to the company's website, JHL is seeking approval for a China Phase I + III trial of JHL1149, which it expects to start later this year. Headquartered in Hsinchu County, Taiwan, JHL has a major manufacturing facility in Wuhan, China.