China's Chengdu New Radiomedicine Technology and the radiotherapy CRDMO Mitro Biotech bagged a combined $94m in their respective new financing rounds during March. Meanwhile, Beijing Varnotech Biopharm secured $83m for its vaccine candidates for the prevention of herpes zoster and respiratory syncytial virus infections. 

Biotech IPOs on the Chinese mainland have dried up since June 2023 due to regulatory tightening, but Hong Kong is still open to listings of pre-revenue ventures and has seen its first offering of this year.

The start-up is aiming to develop a NaV1.8 inhibitor for pain, but previous efforts here have met with more failure than success.

More than 100 biopharma executives and experts told Scrip their predictions for therapeutic area advances in the coming year. The recent commercial success of GLP-1s in diabetes and obesity and their potential in further disease areas fuelled excitement around the metabolic space. Expectations were also positive in neurology following the launch of Leqembi for Alzheimer’s disease in 2023, while the multiple opportunities to improve cancer treatment kept oncology top of the pile overall.