CORESTEMCHEMON, Inc.

Moderna's scrapped mRNA plant in Japan, a negative opinion on Lundbeck and Otsuka's Rexulti, and Pfizer's finalized cancer drug deal with 3SBio made our news this week. Moderna has scrapped plans to build an mRNA plant in Japan. Otsuka and Lundbeck's proposal for Rexulti as part of a PTSD treatment was rejected by an FDA advisory committee. Pfizer's PD-1xVEGF deal with 3SBio includes an option agreement. And more.1. Moderna, facing uncertain business environment, scraps plan to establish mRNA plant in JapanModerna has abandoned a plan to construct an mRNA drug substance plant in Fujisawa, Japan. The decision comes “in light of changes in the business environment both globally and in Japan,” the company said. Moderna pledged to continue providing a “stable supply of vaccines to the country using its global manufacturing network.”2. Lundbeck, Otsuka's PTSD bid for Rexulti dealt a setback at FDA advisory committeeAn FDA advisory committee voted 10 to 1 against recommending Lundbeck and Otsuka’s Rexulti, used alongside Viatris’ Zoloft, for treating post-traumatic stress disorder. Even though several experts hinted that the combo may be effective because of a consistent favorable trend observed across trials, they eventually agreed that the evidence wasn't sufficient to draw a conclusion.3. Pfizer finalizes 3SBio PD-1xVEGF deal with China option agreement (release, PDF)Pfizer has finalized its licensing deal for 3SBio’s PD-1xVEGF candidate SSGJ-707. Other than the ex-China portion of the deal featuring a $1.25 billion upfront payment, Pfizer also gained an option to extend the license to cover China. Upon exercise of the option, Pfizer will pay the Chinese company up to $150 million in additional fees.4. TCG Labs Soleil raises $400M for single-asset biotechs, expands R&D footprint to ChinaTCG Labs Soleil has secured $400 million, which is the exact same size as its inaugural fund last year. TCG Labs Soleil runs a venture-biotech model with its own R&D hub, aiming to help single-asset biotechs move through clinical proof of concept. The organization has established an R&D site in Shanghai.5. China’s Novatim licenses BCMA/CD19 CAR-T to Factor’s Erigen (release, Chinese)China’s Novatim has licensed a BCMA/CD19 dual-targeting CAR-T to Erigen, a company associated with Factor Bioscience. The deal includes $15 million in near-term development milestones, with the total milestone payments potentially reaching $1.32 billion. The candidate, coded KQ-2003, is currently in a phase 1b test in China.Other News of Note:6. Orient Pharma, AvKARE recall nearly 80K bottles of cholesterol drug over impurity concerns7. Kyowa, Amgen and Sanofi back push to change websites that miss the mark on women's health8. Roche's Flatiron Health triples cancer network size across UK, Germany and Japan9. Korean CRO CorestemChemon inks collaboration to expand into organoids and transcriptomics

Part of the collaboration between CorestemChemon and ATG Lifetech will involve developing organoid models for the liver, heart and blood-brain barrier.\n Korean preclinical CRO CorestemChemon is expanding its offerings through a partnership with ATG Lifetech with the goal of bringing pharma clients next-gen nonclinical solutions.The partners will team up to develop a platform based on transcriptomics for predicting drug safety and efficacy; organoid models for the liver, heart and blood-brain barrier; and a transcriptomics analytics service for detecting false positives in tumorigenicity studies, CorestemChemon announced in a July 20 release.The outfits also bring combined expertise in FDA and European Medicines Agency regulations, according to the release. The combination of organoids and transcriptomics is meant to help clients “de-risk clinical entry and reduce overall development timelines.” \"ATG Lifetech\'s disruptive transcriptome and organoid platforms will significantly elevate the scientific fidelity of our preclinical services,\" a CorestemChemon spokesperson said in the release. \"This alliance positions us to compete as a global CRO partner offering best-in-class biological relevance and regulatory readiness.\"The companies plan to launch new global services following presentations of their collaboration’s results at a toxicology and preclinical science conference later this year, according to the release.“Revenue-generating service offerings are expected to begin rolling out by late 2025, with significant global demand already projected,” the CorestemChemon spokesperson said.In addition to its preclinical CRO business, CorestemChemon also has a biotech arm developing stem cell medicines.

Strategic partnership to deliver transcriptomics-powered, organoid-based preclinical testing for high-impact drug discovery SEOUL, South Korea, July 20, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- CorestemChemon, a leading GLP-certified preclinical CRO based in South Korea, has entered into a strategic partnership with ATG Lifetech, a biotechnology company specializing in transcriptome analytics and organoid-based modeling. This collaboration aims to deliver next-generation, precision-driven non-clinical solutions to pharmaceutical companies and biotech ventures across the U.S., Europe, and Asia. Through this partnership, the two companies will co-develop: A transcriptome-based evaluation platform for predictive drug efficacy and safety profiling Disease-relevant organoid models for liver, heart, and the blood-brain barrier (BBB) A high-throughput transcriptomics analytics service for differentiating true vs. false positives in tumorigenicity studies Shared access to regulatory-aligned expertise for global clients targeting FDA/EMA pathways "ATG Lifetech's disruptive transcriptome and organoid platforms will significantly elevate the scientific fidelity of our preclinical services," said a CorestemChemon spokesperson. "This alliance positions us to compete as a global CRO partner offering best-in-class biological relevance and regulatory readiness." Organoid-based assays are increasingly recognized for their translational advantage, offering up to 5x greater predictive accuracy in toxicity and efficacy screening compared to conventional 2D cell cultures, according to industry benchmarks. When integrated with whole-transcriptome analysis, these platforms enable earlier go/no-go decisions in drug pipelines, helping clients de-risk clinical entry and reduce overall development timelines. "Investors should note that this partnership directly supports CorestemChemon's strategic growth plan to expand high-margin, IP-driven CRO services globally. Revenue-generating service offerings are expected to begin rolling out by late 2025, with significant global demand already projected." ATG Lifetech brings validated expertise from its international collaborations, including with ACROBiosystems (Switzerland), and has been selected as a core developer in several South Korean government-backed biopharma initiatives. The two companies plan to showcase their joint research outputs at a major toxicology and preclinical science conference in Q4 2025. Global service launches will follow, focused on biotech and pharmaceutical customers in need of high-content, biologically faithful preclinical testing. CorestemChemon (KOSDAQ: 166480) is a full-service preclinical CRO with over two decades of experience in GLP-based toxicology, pharmacokinetics, and regulatory compliance. The company operates multiple AAALAC-certified facilities and partners with leading biopharmaceutical innovators across Asia, the U.S., and Europe. SOURCE CorestemChemon Inc. WANT YOUR COMPANY'S NEWS FEATURED ON PRNEWSWIRE.COM? 440k+ Newsrooms & Influencers 9k+ Digital Media Outlets 270k+ Journalists Opted In GET STARTED