Positive clinical outcomes for Hengrui and Innovent/Lilly’s obesity candidates presented at ADA were based on trials that enrolled Chinese subjects and were characterized by fewer women and less severe obesity than similar Western studies. Even so, some of the data appear to stack up well against western rival drugs.

In this Chinese-language podcast episode, "Angus" Shipo Xie, a lawyer at Han Kun Law, joins Brian Yang to discuss the implications of China's updated Data Overseas Transfer rules issued in late March. Dexter Yan explains clinical data released by Hutchmed, Jiangsu Hengrui and Innovent Bio at the recent EHA and ADA annual conferences.

China's Dizal has won the first approval worldwide, in its home market, for a JAK1 inhibitor in relapsed/refractory peripheral T-cell lymphoma (PTCL), based on a pivotal Phase II trial. The biotech is also planning a Phase III study with the molecule for second-line PTCL.

Takeda has signed an option deal for Ascentage's olverembatinib, being investigated in two global Phase III trials in the same leukemia indications as those for the Japanese firm's existing drug Iclusig. Olverembatinib has also shown potential to overcome resistance to Iclusig and global competitor Novartis's Scemblix.

The Phase III ESLIM-01 study with HUTCHMED’s Syk inhibitor sovleplenib met its primary endpoint, demonstrating a 48.4% durable response rate for chronic immune thrombocytopenia, significantly higher than placebo. Global development appears to be accelerating and a multinational dose-finding Phase Ib study has also been initiated.

Plus deals involving Kissei/JWP, Shionogi/Cilcare, Takeda/Torrent, Genome & Co./Debiopharm, Kaken/J&J, CStone/Ewopharma, MediLink/BioNTech and more.