Latest news with #HarbourBioMed
Telegraph
21-03-2025
- Business
- Telegraph
AstraZeneca to invest £2bn in Beijing amid China investigation
AstraZeneca has unveiled plans to invest £2bn in Beijing months after Chinese authorities detained the company's local boss over alleged illegal activity. The British drug giant said it would be spending $2.5bn (£2.1bn) in Beijing over the next five years to create a new research hub. It has also struck new licencing deals with Chinese biotech companies Harbour BioMed, Syneron Bio and BioKangtai. The plans will mean AstraZeneca's Beijing workforce will grow to 1,700 employees, from around 600 today. AstraZeneca is already the largest pharmaceutical company in China and the country accounts for 12pc of its revenues. However, the pharmaceutical giant has been grappling to contain a scandal over alleged illegal drug imports. Leon Wang, the president of AstraZeneca's China division, was last year detained alongside several other employees amid an investigation into operations in the country. Authorities are looking into imports of AstraZeneca's cancer drug Imjudo, which is not approved for sale in China. Pascal Soriot, the company's chief executive, last month said the company was cooperating with authorities, adding that he wished 'Leon the very best'. However, he said: 'We have no new information to share about Leon. Actually, we don't receive information.' Separately, more than 100 former sales staff in China have been put in jail over alleged medical insurance fraud. The National Healthcare Security Administration claimed AstraZeneca staff had been involved in scamming medical insurance companies. The issues have weighed on the company's share price, initially wiping more than £15bn off its market value. It has started to pare some of those losses in recent weeks. Mr Soriot said: 'This $2.5bn investment reflects our belief in the world-class life sciences ecosystem in Beijing, the extensive opportunities that exist for collaboration and access to talent, and our continued commitment to China.' As part of the bolstered presence in Beijing, Mr Soriot has also been invited to join the Beijing International Business Leaders Advisory Council (IBLAC), a business steering group. The investment in China comes weeks after AstraZeneca scrapped plans for a £450m vaccine factory in Liverpool. It followed a decision by the Government to lower the level of financial support it would provide. Sir Keir Starmer's Government had reportedly offered almost £80m of public money to help fund the new vaccine factory. This was lower than the £90m promised by the Conservatives. Mr Soriot said last month: 'It was not possible for the Government to justify it, which we totally understand. And on our side, we cannot justify it either. So we were all very disappointed, but that's business life. It happens to us all the time.'
Yahoo
21-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
AstraZeneca to invest £2bn in China amid Beijing police investigation
AstraZeneca has unveiled plans to invest £2bn in China months after Beijing police arrested the company's local boss over alleged illegal activity. The British drug giant said it would be spending $2.5bn (£2.1bn) in Beijing over the next five years to create a new research hub. It has also struck new licencing deals with Chinese biotech companies Harbour BioMed, Syneron Bio and BioKangtai. The plans will mean AstraZeneca's Beijing workforce will grow to 1,700 employees, from around 600 today. AstraZeneca is already the largest pharmaceutical company in China and the country accounts for 12pc of its revenues. However, the pharmaceutical giant has been grappling to contain a scandal over alleged illegal drug imports. Leon Wang, the president of AstraZeneca's China division, was last year detained alongside several other employees amid an investigation into operations in the country. Authorities are looking into imports of AstraZeneca's cancer drug Imjudo, which is not approved for sale in China. Pascal Soriot, the company's chief executive, last month said the company was cooperating with authorities, adding that he wished 'Leon the very best'. However, he said: 'We have no new information to share about Leon. Actually, we don't receive information.' Separately, more than 100 former sales staff in China have been put in jail over alleged medical insurance fraud. The National Healthcare Security Administration claimed AstraZeneca staff had been involved in scamming medical insurance companies. The issues have weighed on the company's share price, initially wiping more than £15bn off its market value. It has started to pare some of those losses in recent weeks. Mr Soriot said: 'This $2.5bn investment reflects our belief in the world-class life sciences ecosystem in Beijing, the extensive opportunities that exist for collaboration and access to talent, and our continued commitment to China.' As part of the bolstered presence in Beijing, Mr Soriot has also been invited to join the Beijing International Business Leaders Advisory Council (IBLAC), a business steering group. The investment in China comes weeks after AstraZeneca scrapped plans for a £450m vaccine factory in Liverpool. It followed a decision by the Government to lower the level of financial support it would provide. Sir Keir Starmer's Government had reportedly offered almost £80m of public money to help fund the new vaccine factory. This was lower than the £90m promised by the Conservatives. Mr Soriot said last month: 'It was not possible for the Government to justify it, which we totally understand. And on our side, we cannot justify it either. So we were all very disappointed, but that's business life. It happens to us all the time.' Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 1 month with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more. Sign in to access your portfolio
Yahoo
21-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
AstraZeneca investing $2.5 billion in China as drugmaker seeks to recover from scandals
By Maggie Fick LONDON (Reuters) - AstraZeneca said on Friday it will spend $2.5 billion on a research and development hub in Beijing, as the drugmaker scrambles to revive business in its second-biggest market after scandals including the arrest of its China president last year. Chief Executive Pascal Soriot was in Beijing and met with the city's mayor to reveal the investment, along with two licensing deals with Chinese companies, and a joint venture with a third Chinese firm on vaccines, saying they all showed the company's commitment to the world's No. 2 economy. "This $2.5 billion investment reflects our belief in the world-class life sciences ecosystem in Beijing, the extensive opportunities that exist for collaboration and access to talent, and our continued commitment to China," Soriot said in a statement. The R&D centre "will partner with the cutting-edge biology and AI science in Beijing and be a critical part of our global efforts to bring innovative medicines to patients worldwide," Soriot said. The centre in Beijing will be the company's second R&D site in China - a centre in Shanghai opened in 2024 - to match two such centres each that AstraZeneca has in the U.S. and Europe, respectively, a company spokesperson said. The Chinese government has launched several investigations into AstraZeneca's executives and activities in the country, where the drugmaker has invested billions of dollars to build factories and license experimental drug candidates from Chinese biotech firms. China accounted for about 12% of group revenue last year. The company, the UK's largest listed company worth 183 billion pounds ($236 billion) on the blue-chip FTSE 100 index, is the largest foreign drugmaker in China. Soriot has often visited the country in recent years and praised the value of doing business there even when other multinationals complained of challenges or cited geopolitical tensions between China and Western countries as a risk for the pharma industry. He is due to attend a flagship development conference in Beijing over the coming days where some are expected to meet Chinese President Xi Jinping. The company put its former China head Leon Wang, who also led its international business as an executive vice president, on administrative leave following his detention by Chinese authorities in October, and overhauled its local management in China. Soriot said at quarterly results last month that the company still does not know Wang's whereabouts. Its stock was hit hard by news of the probes in October 2024, but shares have since recovered as investors hope the impact could be minor. A company spokesperson declined on Friday to comment on the status of the investigations. The licensing agreements announced on Friday were with Chinese firms Harbour BioMed and Syneron Bio, for early-stage experimental medicines. The financial terms were not disclosed. The deals were the latest of about a dozen AstraZeneca has signed with Chinese firms in the past several years - including on obesity drugs - worth a total of at least $9 billion, according to the company. It is also launching a joint venture with another firm, BioKangtai, to develop, manufacture and commercialize vaccines for respiratory and other infectious diseases for patients in China and elsewhere. The site, in Beijing, will be the company's first vaccine manufacturing facility in the country. The company on Friday also announced a partnership with state-run Beijing Cancer Hospital focused on data science and clinical development. ($1 = 0.7730 pounds) Sign in to access your portfolio
Yahoo
12-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Harbour BioMed Launches Élancé Therapeutics to Advance Next-Generation Obesity Therapies
- Élancé Therapeutics aims to improve current obesity treatment, specifically to increase overall body weight loss and fat mass loss, but preserve and even increase muscle and lean mass- Élancé Therapeutics will leverage HCAb-based bispecific antibody technology to advance these next-generation therapies- Élancé will refine and expand Hu-mAtrIxTM AI platform to empower multiple bispecific antibody discovery programs CAMBRIDGE, Mass., ROTTERDAM, Netherlands and SHANGHAI, March 12, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Harbour BioMed (HKEX: 02142), a global biopharmaceutical company committed to the discovery, development and commercialization of novel antibody therapeutics in immunology and oncology, today announced the launch of Élancé Therapeutics ("Élancé"). Harnessing Harbour BioMed's proprietary HCAb-based bispecific antibody technology, Élancé aims to develop innovative therapies addressing key challenges in current obesity treatment, including muscle preservation and long-term efficacy. Obesity affects nearly one billion people worldwide and is associated with serious health complications, yet current treatments remain inadequate for many patients. Despite recent advancements, challenges such as limited efficacy, lean mass loss, and post-treatment weight regain highlight the need for novel approaches that offer sustained benefits and better clinical outcome. To address these gaps, Élancé is building a pipeline of bispecific antibody programs designed to improve weight loss outcomes while preserving lean muscle mass. By integrating dual-targeting strategies with enhanced safety profiles, these therapies have the potential to complement and expand upon existing treatment options, including various agonists of GLP-1 receptor, GIP receptor, and GCG receptor. Élancé's pipeline includes multiple bispecific antibody programs in preclinical development, each designed to offer innovative mechanisms of action, including targeted hormone modulation and enhanced metabolic regulation. These programs are supported by Harbour BioMed's validated HCAb-based bispecific antibody discovery platform, which has been successfully applied across multiple therapeutic areas. In addition, Élancé will refine and expand Nona Biosciences' Hu-mAtrIxTM AI platform to support bispecific antibody discovery, with AI applications guiding antibody sequence discovery, enrichment, optimization, bispecific geometry design, and developability/immunogenicity/pharmacokinetics (PK) assessments, as well as patient biomarker studies. "Our bispecific antibody programs enable a new paradigm in obesity treatment by targeting multiple pathways in a precise and effective manner," said Jingsong Wang, MD, PhD, Founder, Chairman, and CEO of Harbour BioMed. "With a focus on optimizing weight loss efficacy, preserving lean muscle mass, and improving long-term outcomes, we believe our approach has the potential to redefine obesity therapeutics." About Harbour BioMed Harbour BioMed (HKEX: 02142) is a global biopharmaceutical company committed to the discovery, development, and commercialization of novel antibody therapeutics focusing on immunology and oncology. The company is building its robust portfolio and differentiated pipeline through internal R&D capability, collaborations with co-discovery and co-development partners, and select acquisitions. The proprietary antibody technology platform Harbour Mice® generates fully human monoclonal antibodies in two heavy and two light chains (H2L2) format, as well as heavy chain only (HCAb) format. Building upon the HCAb antibodies, the HCAb-based immune cell engagers (HBICE®) bispecific antibody technology is capable of delivering tumor-killing effects unachievable by traditional combination therapies. Integrating Harbour Mice®, and HBICE® with a single B cell cloning platform, our antibody discovery engine is highly unique and efficient for the development of next-generation therapeutic antibodies. For further information, please refer to About Élancé Therapeutics Élancé Therapeutics is a biotechnology company developing next-generation biologics for obesity treatment. Incubated by Harbour BioMed, Élancé Therapeutics leverages advanced bispecific antibody technology to address key challenges in obesity management, including limited efficacy, lean mass loss, and post-treatment weight regain. With a pipeline of innovative bispecific antibody programs targeting novel pathways, the company aims to provide effective and sustainable treatment solutions that complement existing obesity therapies. View original content to download multimedia: SOURCE Harbour BioMed Sign in to access your portfolio
Yahoo
11-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Harbour BioMed Appoints Dr. Ian Y. Liu as Global Head of Legal
CAMBRIDGE, Mass., ROTTERDAM, Netherlands and SHANGHAI, March 10, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Harbour BioMed (HKEX: 02142), a global biopharmaceutical company committed to the discovery, development and commercialization of novel antibody therapeutics focusing on immunology and oncology, today announced the appointment of Dr. Ian Y. Liu as Senior Vice President, Global Head of Legal. Dr. Liu will be based in the U.S. and report directly to Dr. Jingsong Wang, Founder, Chairman, and CEO of Harbour BioMed. With his extensive legal expertise and industry experience, Dr. Liu will oversee business development transactions, ensuring legal and regulatory compliance while facilitating seamless execution to safeguard the company's interests. He will also lead the company's global intellectual property strategy. Additionally, Dr. Liu will take full responsibility for managing U.S.-related legal affairs, including prosecution and litigation of all legal cases, protecting the company's business operations in the region and supporting its strategic growth in the U.S. market. Before joining Harbour BioMed, Dr. Liu worked at renowned law firms, including Finnigan, Henderson, Farabow, Garrett & Dunner, LLP, and K&L Gates, LLP, where he gained extensive experience in patent applications, litigation, and due diligence. In the corporate legal affairs sector, he held key positions such as Head of Legal and Governmental Affairs at Simcere Pharmaceutical, demonstrating exceptional ability in handling complex legal matters and commercial negotiations. Dr. Jingsong Wang, Founder, Chairman, and CEO of Harbour BioMed, commented: " We are pleased to welcome Dr. Ian Y. Liu to Harbour BioMed. As we continue to expand our business globally, Dr. Liu's expertise in intellectual property, business transactions, and regulatory affairs will be invaluable. With his extensive legal expertise and industry experience, we look forward to him playing a critical role in supporting the company's sustained growth in the U.S. and international markets, further strengthening our industry position and global impact." Dr. Ian Y. Liu, Senior Vice President, Global Head of Legal of Harbour BioMed, added: "Harbour BioMed has always been at the forefront of drug discovery and development, business innovation, and globalization. It is a privilege and honor to become a member of Harbour BioMed and I am looking forward to contributing to Harbour BioMed's bright future." Dr. Liu holds a Bachelor of Science degree from Fudan University, a Ph.D. from Worcester Polytechnic Institute, and a J.D. from Suffolk University Law School. About Harbour BioMed Harbour BioMed (HKEX: 02142) is a global biopharmaceutical company committed to the discovery, development, and commercialization of novel antibody therapeutics focusing on immunology and oncology. The company is building its robust portfolio and differentiated pipeline through internal R&D capability, collaborations with co-discovery and co-development partners, and select acquisitions. The proprietary antibody technology platform Harbour Mice® generates fully human monoclonal antibodies in two heavy and two light chains (H2L2) format, as well as heavy chain only (HCAb) format. Building upon the HCAb antibodies, the HCAb-based immune cell engagers (HBICE®) bispecific antibody technology is capable of delivering tumor-killing effects unachievable by traditional combination therapies. Integrating Harbour Mice®, and HBICE® with a single B cell cloning platform, our antibody discovery engine is highly unique and efficient for the development of next-generation therapeutic antibodies. For further information, please refer to View original content to download multimedia: SOURCE Harbour BioMed Sign in to access your portfolio
