Healthcare & Life Sciences News & Trends: July Week 4

Healthcare & Life Sciences News & Trends: July Week 4

Healthcare & Life Sciences News & Trends: July Week 4

1. Market Pulse

i. Biopharma VC Activity Signals a Resurgence in Growth

What: Biopharma is witnessing a resurgence in growth, as noted by J.P. Morgan, with increased venture investments, steady M&A activities, and a gradually expanding IPO market. The second quarter saw biopharma companies raising $7.6 billion through 107 investments, consistent with the first quarter’s numbers.

  • Venture funding is robust, particularly in high-dollar rounds. Notable investments include Xaira Therapeutics’ $1 billion and Formation Bio’s $372 million.
  • Early-stage funding is also strong, with $5.1 billion raised across 105 rounds in the first half of the year.
  • Merger & acquisition (M&A) activities are healthy. As interest rates stabilise, a rise in deal values in the latter half of the year is expected. The largest acquisitions include Vertex Pharmaceuticals’ $4.9 billion buyout of Alpine Immune Sciences and Merck’s $1.3 billion purchase of Eyebiotech.
  • Licensing deals continue favouring biologics and small molecules, trending towards smaller upfront payments and milestone-based payouts. Significant licensing agreements include Sanofi and Novavax’s $500 million COVID-19 shot deal and Novartis’ $180 million deal with PeptiDream.
  • IPO activity is also on the rise, with $1.9 billion raised from 10 market debuts in the first half of the year, indicating a strong signal for later-stage companies to go public.

Implications: The trends suggest a favourable environment for investments and partnerships in the industry.

Read the full article about market sentiments for 2024.

 

ii. Shanghai Unveils Comprehensive Support Plan for Innovative Drugs

What: Shanghai released new guidelines to support the comprehensive innovation and development of the biopharmaceutical industry. This follows similar drafts from Beijing, Guangzhou, and Zhuhai, reflecting nationwide efforts to bolster innovation in this sector. Key points of Shanghai’s policy include:

  • A focus on enhancing innovation capabilities, especially foundational technologies like AI-enabled drug development.
  • A commitment to 100 key enterprises, 100 significant investment projects, 100 key products and 100 key pipelines.
  • Unique aspects: Compared to other cities, Shanghai has also set the highest subsidy standards for R&D support, which are more targeted towards Category 1 new drugs. While calculations for other regions are based on clinical approval documents, Shanghai included R&D outsourcing services (such as CROs).
  • The policy makes Shanghai the first city to propose leveraging a city-level health data platform to genuinely mobilise and share data to improve data accessibility, facilitate collaborative training, and ensure compliant use.
  • For market access, which is crucial for increasing new drug sales expectations, Shanghai’s policy encourages the inclusion of innovative products in hospitals.

Implications: Shanghai’s policy is promising, ambitious, and beneficial for long-term issues like clinical research hospitals and data sharing, but immediate market conditions present critical challenges. The industry remains cautious about implementation, citing delays in subsidy disbursements and cumbersome procedures in other regions. The policy’s effectiveness in attracting capital also depends on addressing immediate funding and fundamental market issues. This includes negotiating medical insurance prices and payment standards and offering stronger medical insurance support to improve drug entry into hospitals.

Read the full Chinese analysis of the innovative drug sector.

 

2. Business Moves

i. GSK and Flagship Ink Multibillion-Dollar Partnership for Drug Discovery

What: GSK and Flagship Pioneering partnered to develop up to 10 new drugs, with potential payments exceeding US$7 billion. They will initially invest US$150 million in exploring respiratory and immunology treatments. GSK will provide up to US$720 million for each drug that meets development and commercial milestones. The move follows GSK’s recent acquisition of Aiolos Bio for US$1.4 billion and Bellus Health for US$2 billion. Flagship, known for its creation of Moderna, focuses on developing in-house scientific ideas into multiple products.

Implications: The move is expected to refine GSK’s portfolio.

Read the full article about GSK and Flagship’s partnership.

 

ii. Flo Health Achieves Unicorn Status After Raising $200m

What: Flo Health, a women’s health company known for its period-tracking app, has secured over $200 million in Series C funding from General Atlantic, elevating its valuation to over $1 billion. The London-based firm focuses on developing period and fertility tracking applications for women. It utilises AI to provide personalised services for each user and monitors over 70 symptoms. Flo has nearly 70 million monthly active users and five million paid subscribers, and it aims to reach 1 billion women globally. Two executives from General Atlantic, a leading private equity firm managing $77 billion and known for successful investments in Alibaba, ByteDance, Facebook, and Uber, will join Flo’s board of directors.

Implications: This funding will support technology enhancement and workforce expansion in Europe and North America. On a macro level, the entry of leading institutions into this space also highlights the current investment boom. Statistics show that digital health financing was strong in the first half of 2024, with 719 deals completed, totalling $12.4 billion in investments. AI-supported companies, particularly in health management, are gaining market attention.

Specifically, AI+ health management includes four key stages: health data collection, health detection, health assessment, and health intervention, creating a cyclical process for comprehensive individual health management. This can be further divided into three major sub-markets: chronic disease management, elderly care, and sub-health groups. These sub-markets is expected to grow rapidly with ageing populations and increasing health awareness.

In China, several companies already entered this emerging market, including iFLYTEK Healthcare, Meinian Onehealth, Andon Health, Medlinker, Qingsong Health, and Yizhe AI. However, a key pain point is that each of the platforms operates in silos, and the independent solutions provided by different companies can significantly disrupt user habits. Moving forward, integration may become a focus in development.

Read the full article about Flo Health’s fundraising.

Read the full analysis of the Chinese AI health management market.

 

iii. Adaptimmune Gets FDA’s Accelerated Approval for TECELRA®

What: Adaptimmune Therapeutics received FDA accelerated approval for its TCR-T cell therapy, TECELRA® (afamitresgene autoleucel). TECELRA® is a new treatment for adults with unresectable or metastatic synovial sarcoma who have specific HLA types and have previously undergone chemotherapy. TECELRA is the world’s first approved TCR-T cell therapy and the first new treatment option for this rare cancer in over a decade. The approval is based on data from the SPEARHEAD-1 trial, which showed an overall response rate (ORR) of 39% and median overall survival (OS) of 17 months, an improvement over previous treatments. Adaptimmune has expanded its treatment centres and also launched another TCR-T cell therapy, Lete-cel, targeting synovial sarcoma and myxoid/round cell liposarcoma (MRCLS) by 2026.

Implications: Given the five-year survival rate for synovial sarcoma patients is currently as low as 36% and just 20% for those diagnosed with metastatic disease, TECELRA’s approval offers hope and a potentially transformative option for patients with this challenging cancer. The approval also signifies major advancement in the TCR-T cell therapy field, boosting industry confidence and paving the way for future innovations and commercialisation.

Read the full article about the accelerated approval for TECELRA®.

 

3. People Moves: University of Pennsylvania and Hengrui

University of Pennsylvania: After over 30 years at the University of Pennsylvania, renowned gene therapy pioneer Dr James Wilson is leaving to lead two new companies, GEMMA Biotherapeutics and Franklin Biolabs. These companies aim to translate scientific discoveries from Penn’s Gene Therapy Programme into treatments. GEMMABio will focus on research and development (R&D), while Franklin Biolabs will handle services and production. Wilson, known for his work with adeno-associated viruses (AVVs) in gene therapy, will transfer most of the current Gene Therapy Programme employees to the new companies, which will stay in Philadelphia and target therapies for rare diseases. Funding for these ventures is imminent from various investors.

Gemma Biotherapeutics has already secured a licence with Passage Bio, valued at up to $134 million, for three paediatric drug development programmes. This agreement grants Gemma the global rights to develop and commercialise treatments for GM1 gangliosidosis, Krabbe disease, and metachromatic leukodystrophy—each a severe and rare neurological disorder. Dr Wilson’s transition to leading his new ventures will likely accelerate the delivery of gene therapies to the market. The deal with Passage Bio will enable the latter to concentrate on its lead candidate, PBFT02, aimed at treating multiple adult neurodegenerative diseases.

Hengrui: Hengrui appointed Dr Xu Xuejian as Vice President and Chief Quality Officer (CQO). In his new role, Dr Xu will focus on quality management. Dr Xu has over 30 years of experience in the pharmaceutical industry and focuses on quality management, regulatory affairs, and production. He has held senior roles at leading companies such as WuXi Biologics, WuXi AppTec, the FDA, Pfizer, and Genzyme, where he demonstrated a strong track record in establishing international quality systems and compliance with GMP regulations.

Read the full paid article about James Wilson’s new biotech firms.

Read the full Chinese article about Hengrui’s VP and CQO.

 

Get More Market Insights

For more in-depth discussions about market movements and opportunities, schedule a coffee chat with our life sciences recruitment consultants today:

We have executive search firms in Singapore and China, both of which are key business hubs in Asia, enabling our team to offer a comprehensive insights to help you stay ahead of the pack in your industry.

For employers: If you require support beyond the healthcare and life sciences industry, we have dedicated teams for several other industries, including:

Let us help you navigate the complexities of the market and achieve your strategic objectives today.

Image Sources:

  • Femtech World
back to blog listing
Categories
Recent Posts