Guizhou Sinorda Biotechnology Co., Ltd.

WuXi Biologics, a contract research, development and manufacturing organization (CRDMO) headquartered in Shanghai, China, has signed a license and research service agreement with Vertex Pharmaceuticals for a preclinical trispecific T-cell engager designed to treat B-cell–mediated autoimmune diseases. Under the agreement, Vertex will receive exclusive global rights to develop and commercialize the candidate. WuXi Biologics said it will receive an upfront payment and may earn development, regulatory, and sales milestone payments, as well as royalties. The company will also provide contract research and development services on next-generation T-cell engagers, according to the announcement. WuXi Biologics said the program was discovered using its integrated platforms and will be advanced under Vertex’s global development and commercialization efforts. In recent related developments, WuXi Biologics said it entered a collaboration with Sinorda Biomedicine to support preclinical pharmacology studies and clinical supply for a bispecific antibody program intended for IND filings in China and the United States in 2026. The company also recently announced a partnership with HanchorBio to provide chemistry, manufacturing, and controls (CMC) execution, as well as GMP manufacturing support for multiple fusion protein programs.

WuXi Biologics, a contract research, development and manufacturing organization (CRDMO) headquartered in Shanghai, China, has entered a strategic collaboration with Sinorda Biomedicine to support the development and manufacturing of SND006, a bispecific antibody being evaluated for inflammatory bowel disease and other autoimmune indications. Under the agreement, Sinorda Biomedicine will use WuXi Biologics’ development and manufacturing capabilities to advance preclinical pharmacology studies and produce clinical supply for SND006, according to the announcement. The work is intended to support planned Investigational New Drug (IND) applications with China’s National Medical Products Administration and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in 2026. SND006 was independently developed by Sinorda Biomedicine, which holds worldwide rights to the program. The company has completed in vitro functional validation studies and plans to progress the candidate through IND-enabling activities with support from WuXi Biologics. The collaboration may expand to additional programs from Sinorda Biomedicine’s pipeline, spanning activities from molecule discovery through clinical manufacturing, the companies said. Earlier this week, WuXi Biologics also announced a collaboration with HanchorBio to provide chemistry, manufacturing and controls execution and GMP manufacturing support for multiple clinical-stage fusion protein programs.

President Donald Trump threatened to raise tariffs on South Korean pharmaceuticals from 15% to 25%. He wrote in a Truth Social post on Monday that South Korea is “not living up” to the trade deal it struck with the US in October, claiming the country’s National Assembly hasn’t yet approved the deal. “What is needed now is to quickly confirm the intent and facts of the US statement and correct any misunderstandings,” said South Korea’s democratic party spokesperson Kim Hyun-jung in a statement on Tuesday. The Democratic Party of Korea said it planned to discuss the tariff hike at a government meeting held on Tuesday. Siegfried has acquired the drug substance businesses of Noramco and Extractas Bioscience from SK Capital Partners. The acquisition gives Siegfried three small molecule drug substance factories in Wilmington, DE, Athens, GA and Westbury, Tasmania. Siegfried will also absorb 400 staffers. As a result of this transaction, the remaining capabilities of Noramco will function as a separate CDMO called Halo Pharma and are expected to be online in the second half of this year. The EU and India reached a trade deal on Monday after nearly two decades of negotiations. Under the agreement, India will “mostly” eliminate an 11% tariff on EU pharmaceuticals, according to a European Commission news release . That process, however, could take up to a decade, most likely around 5 to 7 years, according to a fact sheet published this week. India’s deal with the EU to scrap tariffs on European pharma goods marks a small win for the bloc as it seeks to boost its global competitiveness in the sector. Antheia raised an additional $24 million in the second close of its Series C funding round, bringing its total raised to over $175 million over the last year. Antheia will use the financing to expand its commercial manufacturing capacity and onshore production to the US. The Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI) is funding MSD , Merck’s non-US branch, $30 million to develop an Ebola vaccine with an improved manufacturing process, which will make it cheaper and more accessible for low- and middle-income countries. MSD will work to raise the shelf-life temperature of its Zaire ebolavirus vaccine to reduce its cost and make it easier to distribute. Thermo Fisher Scientific pulled in 4% more revenue for 2025 compared to the year before, reaching a total of $44.56 billion, with its fourth quarter also increasing by 7% to $12.21 billion, beating analysts’ expectations. Meanwhile, several new deals were announced this week: