Rising star Agnė Vaitkevičienė is juggling roles as the CEO of an emerging Lithuanian biotech, with work for a partner company, the national biotech trade association and much more. 

The ranks of B7-H3-targeting antibody-drug conjugates under development in China have seen their first dropout, although elsewhere there are two FGFR2b-directed ADCs with first-in-class potential on the horizon. Meanwhile, there have been other discontinuations of KRAS G12C inhibitors and anti-BCMA CAR-T cell therapies in the country, while new players have surfaced in the areas of mRNA cancer vaccines and amyloid-beta-targeting antibodies for Alzheimer’s disease.

A material shift in China derisking discussions by big biopharma against the backdrop of the proposed US BIOSECURE Bill is seen presenting opportunities for Syngene, though the tight US biotech funding environment dampened demand for the Indian CRDMO’s R&D services in Q4.

China’s public payer perceives innovative drugs in a different way from that of the country’s top drug regulator, a former senior healthcare security official with knowledge of the matter reveals. The posture has unnerved pharma companies, which have been hit by sharp price discounts.