Image Source: PixabayTM Editors’ note: This article discusses a penny stock and/or microcap. Such stocks are easily manipulated; do your own careful due diligence.Deals and FinancingsCuron Biopharmaceutical, a Shanghai company, out-licensed global rights for a clinical-stage bispecific candidate to Merck (MSD) for $700 million upfront plus $600 million in milestones (see story). Curon’s CN201 is a novel CD3xCD19-targeting T-cell-engager bispecific antibody, designed to target B cells for elimination by T cells. CN201 is currently in Phase I and Phase Ib/II trials to treat relapsed or refractory non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma and relapsed or refractory B-cell acute lymphocytic leukemia. Curon was founded in 2018 with $150 million in capital. Merck plans to also test CN201 in autoimmune diseases. China Resources Sanjiu Medical & Pharmaceutical will buy a 28% stake in Tianjin’s Tasly Pharma Group for $869 million (see story). Both companies make traditional Chinese medicines and pharmaceutical products, but Tasly also develops biologic medications through a subsidiary, Tasly Biopharma. Although CR Sanjiu will own only 28% of Tasly, the company said it would become Tasly’s controlling shareholder. Tasly Great Health will also transfer 5% of Tasly’s shares to CR Sanjiu’s major shareholder, Guoxin Investment. CR Sanjiu is one of many companies that are a part of China Resources Corporation, a state-owned entity. Beijing Genor Biopharma granted a global license (ex-China) for its CD20/CD3 bispecific as a therapy for autoimmune diseases to TRC 2004, a new company backed by Third Rock Ventures (see story). Genor has already conducted a China-Australia Phase I/II trial of the candidate in patients with B-NHL. GB261 is a novel CD20/CD3 bispecific T-Cell Engager (TCE) with ultra-low CD3 binding affinity and full Fc functionality. Genor will receive equity in TRC 2004, an upfront payment of double-digit-millions of dollars, milestones of up to $443 million and royalties on sales. https://www.chinabiotoday.com/articles/genor-bispecific-443-millionDaiichi Sankyo (DSKYF) will co-develop Merck’s MK-6070, an investigational delta-like ligand 3 (DLL3) targeting T-cell engager (see story). Merck acquired the candidate when it bought Harpoon Therapeutics (HARP) in January for $670 million. Merck will receive an upfront payment of $170 million from Daiichi Sankyo; development costs and sales revenues will be split between the two companies. In 2023, Merck formed an agreement for joint development of three of Daiichi Sankyo’s DXd antibody-drug conjugate (ADC) candidates. Merck paid $4 billion upfront in the deal which had a total value of $22 billion. Huadong Medicine (Hangzhou) entered a $153 million pact for China commercialization rights to Immunopharm Technology’s IM19, a CAR T-cell immunotherapy that targets lymphoma (see story). Huadong will pay $17.5 million upfront. IM19 injection has finished clinical trials for three indications, and Immunopharm expects to file for marketing approval before the end of the year. Immunopharm is a Beijing cell and gene therapy company. Huadong in-licenses China distribution rights for novel drugs. Previously, it acquired rights to commercialize a CARsgen CAR-T in China.Tokyo’s Kyowa Kirin will turn its research focus to unmet needs in the areas of bone and mineral, hematologic cancers/intractable hematologic diseases and rare diseases (see story). The company will form a global research organization to develop advanced antibody technologies and hematopoietic stem cell gene therapies (HSC-GT) in these areas. Kyowa will transfer its Chinese operations, including five established brands, to Hong Kong’s WinHealth Pharma for $105 million. WuXi Biologics partnered with Medigene AG, a Munich Biotech, to design T cell receptor-guided T Cell Engagers (TCR-TCEs) aimed at difficult-to-treat tumors (see story). The three-year effort will combine Medigen’s TCR expertise with WuXi’s anti-CD3 mAb, a TCE platform, and its proprietary bispecific antibody platform, WuXiBody™. Medigene wants to extend TCRs into new modalities, such as TCR-TCEs. The companies say the collaboration has the potential to become a multi-TCR program partnership. Wuxi Biologics is a Shanghai CRDMO focused on biologic drug development. Sanyou Biopharmaceuticals (Shanghai), a CRMO, formed a collaboration agreement with Guangdong JiAnTeBo Biotechnology to discover and validate new antibody candidates (see story). Sanyou Bio will use its antibody discovery platform to identify over 200 lead antibody drug molecules. JiAnTeBo will apply its cell activity detection system for functional testing of these molecules.  Using its technology, JiAnTeBo, has discovered new targets for metabolic diseases including obesity, fatty liver, diabetes, and Alzheimer’s disease. The company is developing mRNA and agonist antibody drugs. Trials and  ApprovalsSuzhou T-Maximum Pharmaceutical reported that its universal CAR-T therapy has been administered successfully to 50 adult patients with recurrent high-grade glioma in an investigator-initiated trial (see story). T-Maximum has developed a CRISPR/Cas9 Gene-Editing platform for solid tumors. The company’s lead drug, MT027, is a B7H3-specific allogeneic CAR-T designed to treat recurrent high-grade glioma using intrathecal or intracerebroventricular administration. T-Maximum develops universal cell therapies to treat previously untreatable’ diseases, targeting advanced solid malignancies. WestGene Biopharma reported that its mRNA therapeutic cancer vaccine, WGc-043, received dual IND approvals in China and the US (see story). WGc-043 is the first mRNA vaccine for EBV-related cancers approved to start clinical trials in the two countries. According to WestGene, the approvals validate WestGene’s expertise in core mRNA technologies such as delivery vectors and sequence design, while also advancing the commercialization of low-toxicity anti-tumor mRNA vaccines globally. More By This Author:Week In Review: ImmuneOnco Out-Licenses Two Antibodies In $2 Billion DealWeek In Review: Nanjing Triastek Partners With BioNTech In A $1.2 Billion Drug Development DealWeek In Review: Korea’s SK Biopharma Acquires Radiopharmaceutical In $571 Million Deal