Source: 21st Century Economic Report
Editor: Ji Yuanyuan, Xu QiulianWelcome to follow the latest events in the pharmaceuticals and health industry with the 21st Century Economic Report's New Health team!
Policy Trends
On July 23, the National Healthcare Security Administration issued the "Notice on Printing and Distributing the 2.0 Version of the Grouping Plan for Payment by Disease Group and Disease Category Score, and Further Advancing Related Work," ensuring that all coordinated regions uniformly adopt the grouping version starting from 2025 to enhance the standardization and uniformity of payment reform efforts. Regarding the implementation of the new version of the grouping plan, in principle, newly implemented DRG/DIP payment coordinated regions in 2024 will directly use the 2.0 version of the grouping plan, while already implemented coordinated regions should complete preparations for transitioning to the 2.0 version by the end of 2024; based on ensuring national consistency in core DRG groupings and DIP disease category grouping rules, local adjustments can be made according to actual conditions; cases unsuitable for DRG/DIP standard payments due to long hospital stays, high medical costs, use of new drugs or technologies, complex critical illnesses, or multidisciplinary joint diagnosis and treatment can be independently reported by medical institutions for special case-by-case review.21 Comments: The new plan will have a profound impact on promoting the reform of China's medical payment methods, improving the quality of medical services, reducing medical costs, and promoting the rational allocation of medical resources. This updated version ensures consistency in core grouping rules nationwide while allowing regions to adjust local groupings based on actual conditions and establishing a special case review mechanism. This arrangement not only guarantees uniformity at the national level but also accommodates regional characteristics and innovation needs of medical institutions, providing flexibility for handling complex cases, using new drugs, and adopting advanced technologies.Drug and Device Approval
On July 23, GSK announced that the European Medicines Agency (EMA) had accepted the Marketing Authorization Application (MAA) for Blenrep (belantamab mafodotin), an antibody-drug conjugate (ADC) targeting B-cell maturation antigen (BCMA), in combination with bortezomib plus dexamethasone (BorDex) or pomalidomide plus dexamethasone (PomDex), for the treatment of relapsed or refractory multiple myeloma (RRMM).
- RemeGen's Telitacicept RA New Indication Fully Approved, PMN Indication Granted Clinical Trial
On July 23, RemeGen announced that Telitacicept (brand name: Tai'ai) has received full approval from the National Medical Products Administration (NMPA) for use in combination with methotrexate to treat adult patients with moderate to severe active rheumatoid arthritis (RA) who have had an inadequate response to methotrexate; the clinical study of Telitacicept Injection for the treatment of adult patients with primary membranous nephropathy (PMN) has also been approved by the NMPA.
- Financial Report Disclosure
On July 23, Betta Pharmaceuticals announced that the estimated attributable net profit for the first half of 2024 would be between 208 million yuan and 237 million yuan, representing a year-on-year increase of 40% to 60%.
- Hunan Dajiaweikang Pharmaceutical Industry Co.,ltd. Expects to Achieve Net Profit of 25 Million to 32 Million Yuan in the First Half of the Year
On July 23, Hunan Dajiaweikang Pharmaceutical Industry Co., Ltd. announced that the estimated attributable net profit for the first half of 2024 would be approximately 25 million to 32 million yuan, representing a year-on-year increase of 37.46% to 75.95%.On July 23, Pfizer issued a statement on the Singapore Economic Development Board's website, announcing that it had invested S$1 billion ($743 million) to expand its automated active pharmaceutical ingredients manufacturing facility in Singapore, which will create over 250 new high-skilled jobs, adding to the hundreds of employees already working in Singapore.
- Triastek and BioNTech Collaborate on 3D Printing Development of Oral RNA Medicines
On July 23, Triastek announced a research collaboration and platform technology licensing agreement with BioNTech SE. Under the agreement, the two parties will develop oral RNA drugs based on 3D printing pharmaceutical technology. This collaboration aims to provide a breakthrough therapy by addressing unmet clinical needs through a convenient oral formulation. Triastek will receive an upfront payment of $10 million and is eligible for milestone payments totaling over $1.2 billion for product development, registration, and commercialization, as well as potential future tiered sales royalties.
Industry Highlights
On July 23, Porton BioTech announced that it had recently completed the equity change registration for the acquisition of a minority stake in Porton Europe. NV, which has officially become a wholly-owned subsidiary of Porton BioTech.
- Luye Pharma Secures Strategic Investment of 1.6 Billion
On July 23, Luye Pharma announced that it had secured a maximum investment of 1.6 billion RMB from "Shenzhen Luye Private Equity Investment Fund." According to Luye Pharma's announcement, this investment will primarily be used for the continuous development of Shenzhen Luye, strengthening the development of next-generation innovative drugs, and supporting Shenzhen Luye’s business growth in areas such as marketing, medical affairs, market access, and sales, to enhance Shenzhen Luye’s competitive edge in the market.
Public Opinion Early WarningOn July 23, Xinghao Pharmaceutical announced that the company's board of directors received a resignation report from independent director He Xiaoyun on July 22, 2024. He Xiaoyun resigned from the position of independent director due to personal reasons and also resigned from the positions in the board's special committees, the company's audit committee, and the nomination committee.
- Ji Min Medical Independent Director Li Yongquan Resigns
On July 23, Jimin Medical announced that the company's board of directors recently received a written resignation application from Li Yongquan, an independent director of the company. Due to his own work reasons, Li Yongquan applied to resign from his positions as an independent director of the company, chairman of the nomination committee of the board of directors, and member of the strategy committee and audit committee.
