💊 Life Semantics’ entry into LatAm; Indian Health Ministry’s pharma ambitions; Gilead’s shiny, new deal

#407 | The fight against polio; Biotech in LatAm; Catching AMR-causing enzymes red-handed

Hello there. Welcome back to The Kable. Korea’s Life Semantics is stepping onto a bridge into the Latin American market. The company recently introduced its digital health products to Paraguayan government officials. Life Semantics is also working to enter the Southeast Asian market.

Meanwhile, Japan is making inroads into Uzbekistan. Japan’s Nagai Clinic and the administration of the Fergana region inked a Memorandum of Cooperation to construct the Japan Medical and Healthcare Town in the Uzbek region with Japanese investment.

In India, the Health Ministry’s ambitions for the pharma and medtech sectors include reaching a value of $130 billion by 2030. The Ministry intends to introduce a comprehensive five-year policy to boost R&D, allocating of ₹5,000 crore between FY 2024-2028.

Also, in India, The Economic Times writes about how the National Medical Commission’s latest decision to mandate generic drug prescriptions could affect the pharma industry, especially mid-sized pharma companies.

In the US, the FDA issued a warning letter to AstraZeneca earlier this month. The letter concerns misleading claims in promotional material about Breztri, a drug used to treat chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

Yesterday, Gilead Sciences announced that it has entered an agreement with Tentarix Biotherapeutics to develop antibody-based cancer and inflammatory disease therapies. Gilead will pay $66 million upfront and should it choose to acquire any of up to three Tentarix subsidiaries formed around the collaborative programmes, Gilead will pay Tentarix $80 million for each.

And finally, China’s Jiangsu Hengrui Pharmaceuticals has granted USA-based OneBio exclusive rights (except in China) to SHR-1905, its mAb injection to treat severe asthma. The treatment is currently in phase 2 trials. The deal is worth $21.5 million upfront and if the injection is approved in the USA, Japan, and certain European countries, it could possibly be worth over $1 billion in development and sales milestones.