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AstraZeneca pays Sino $200M upfront, up to $1.9B for COPD challenger to Merck’s Ohtuvayre

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AstraZeneca paid $200 million upfront to China’s Sino Biopharmaceutical for ex‑China rights to TQC3721, a late‑phase PDE3/4 inhibitor COPD candidate that challenges Merck’s Ohtuvayre; total deal value could reach $1.9 billion in milestones. TQC3721, developed via Sino’s Chia Tai Tianqing, has a nebulized formulation in phase 3 in China and a dry‑powder inhaler in phase 2; mid‑stage data show up to 147 mL FEV1 improvement at week 4, beating Ohtuvayre’s 124 mL improvement in prior phase 2. Merck’s Ohtuvayre, acquired with Verona Pharma for $10 billion, set the PDE3/4 class benchmark and posted $131 million in Q1 revenue; AstraZeneca now backs TQC3721 as a potential best‑in‑class COPD asset and broader pipeline addition. Sources: AstraZeneca pens $2.1B deal for challenger to Merck's Ohtuvayre AstraZeneca in China experimental COPD drug deal - 95.5 WIFC 慢阻肺药物市场掀起交易热潮，阿斯利康19亿美元拿下这款中国创新药 AstraZeneca to buy Takeda's respiratory business for $575m and expand Chinese opera...

Novartis Cuts New Jersey Jobs

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Vertex Inks $10B Crinetics Buy, Entering White Space Blockbuster Opportunity

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Through Flux and Fluidity, FDA Keeps Coming Back to Rare Disease: 2026 Policy Shifts and Approvals in Rare Disease Space

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Hengrui, Kailera’s GLP‑1 Pill Posts Encouraging Efficacy but High Side Effect Rates in Late‑Stage China Trials

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Vera’s IgAN Approval Kicks Off Competition with Otsuka

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Biopharma bites: Job cuts at Novartis, fresh funding for MeiraGTx and Fore, plus Boehringer's latest deal – 2026 update

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Altasciences and Evidence Matters Advance AI‑Driven Drug Development With Nonclinical Automation Breakthrough – Recent Highlights

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Endevica spinout Kalohexis files confidential IPO to advance obesity drug rivaling GLP-1s

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MeiraGTx scoops up to $400M from Oberland Capital to push gene therapies toward commercialization

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Bristol lays out KRAS med Krazati's stumble in confirmatory colorectal cancer trial

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US lawmakers intensify scrutiny of Chinese clinical trials, raising industry concerns over cost and disruption

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Vertex’s $10B deal for Crinetics marks its biggest acquisition to date

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