Xiamen Amoytop Biotech Co. Ltd.

Astellas' Seattle site closure, GSK's phase 3 plan for its B7-H4 ADC and Daiichi's OTC business divestiture made our news this week. Astellas will close a stem cell therapy site. GSK is pushing a Hansoh Pharma-partnered ADC into multiple phase 3 trials. Daiichi Sankyo is selling its consumer health business unit for about $1.55 billion. And more.1. Astellas to close stem cell unit’s Seattle site, with layoffs incomingAs part of a wider move to consolidate its cell and gene therapy and oncology research, Astellas has decided to close a Seattle site for its stem cell therapy unit. About 55 employees will be impacted, and the shutdown will take two years, with the final closure expected by April 2028. The company acquired the site through its $102.5 million deal for Universal Cells in 2018. 2. GSK CEO's 'scientific courage' propels plans for medley of phase 3 trials for Hansoh-partnered ADCGSK plans to launch five phase 3 trials over the next few months for its Hansoh Pharma-partnered B7-H4 antibody-drug conjugate mocertatug rezetecan, GSK’s oncology R&D chief Hesham Abudllah, M.D., said. The decision comes as GSK unveiled a 62% overall response rate for the highest dose of the drug in platinum-resistant ovarian cancer in a phase 1b study.3. In industry's latest OTC pivot, Daiichi Sankyo lines up $1.5B consumer health unit sale to beverage giant SuntoryDaiichi Sankyo has agreed to sell its consumer health subsidiary to Japanese beverage giant Suntory Holdings. The deal, to be executed in several tranches over about three years, is valued at 246.5 billion Japanese yen (about $1.55 billion). Daiichi said it will focus on its innovative medicines franchise, “particularly the oncology business.”4. Takeda terminates mRNA research pact with Japanese drug discovery specialistTakeda has ended a partnership with Veritas In Silico, which originally began in 2023 to discover small molecules that target mRNA for genetically-defined diseases. The financial terms of the deal were not made public. The deal has been called off “amicably,” according to a Takeda spokesperson. 5. AbbVie inks $745M deal with Chinese biotech Haisco for two acute pain assetsAbbVie has agreed to pay $30 million upfront for ex-China rights to two non-opioid pain management candidates from Haisco Pharmaceutical. The deal, which features $715 million in milestones, involves two NaV1.8 inhibitors as potential rivals to Vertex’s Journavx. One candidate is an intravenous drug currently in phase 1 development, and the other is a preclinical oral med.6. China’s Oricell raises $110M for carcinoma CAR-T plans ahead of IPO pushOricell Therapeutics has raised over $110 million in a pre-IPO financing round co-led by Vivo Capital, state-owned Beijing Medical and Health Care Industry Investment Fund, Qiming Venture Partners and a “leading global healthcare fund.” The proceeds would be used to accelerate the company’s global expansion and clinical development, among other needs.Other News of Note: 7. Astellas manufacturing chief views reliable supply, bridging research as his production 'north star'8. 'Absent or trivial' effects: Anti-amyloid Alzheimer's drugs called into question once again9. Kailera outlines plans for $528.5M IPO to support quartet of Chinese obesity assets10. Aligos sells China rights to HBV drug to hepatology player Amoytop in $445M deal11. Former head of China’s NMPA officially indicted on bribery charges (China Daily)

Pevifoscorvir sodium is a potential first-in-class capsid assembly modulator being developed to treat chronic HBV. Credit: Jarun Ontakrai / Shutterstock.com. Aligos Therapeutics has signed an exclusive licence agreement with Xiamen Amoytop Biotech for the development and commercialisation of pevifoscorvir sodium in Greater China for chronic hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection. This territory includes Hong Kong, Macau, Mainland China, and Taiwan. The focus of the partnership is to address the needs of more than 90 million people affected by HBV in this region. Under the agreement, Aligos will receive an upfront milestone payment of $25m. The company remains eligible to receive up to $420m in additional clinical, regulatory, and sales milestones, along with tiered, high single-digit royalties on net sales in Amoytop’s licensed areas. Aligos retains all rights for the development and commercialisation activities of pevifoscorvir sodium outside of Greater China, specifically in Europe, Japan, South Korea, and the US, and will conduct clinical trials in Greater China. The company expects this deal to extend its current cash, cash equivalents, and investments into the fourth quarter of 2026, based on its existing operating plan. Pevifoscorvir sodium is a potential first-in-class capsid assembly modulator (CAM-E) being developed to treat chronic HBV. It is being assessed in the Phase II B-SUPREME study at present, which compares it to tenofovir disoproxil fumarate (TDF). The second interim analysis is expected during the second half of 2026, with final top line data anticipated in 2027. Xiamen Amoytop Biotech chairman and CEO Sun Li said: “Aligos is at the forefront of HBV innovation, and we are pleased to deepen our partnership with this outstanding team. We believe pevifoscorvir sodium has the potential to transform chronic HBV suppression, and we are proud to license this important programme for Greater China. “As we continue to build our portfolio, including the Aligos-partnered ASO and approved PEGBING therapy, we look forward to exploring combination approaches that deliver meaningful benefits to patients across the region.” Closing of the agreement is expected within 30 days, subject to Xiamen Amoytop Biotech shareholder approval.

Amoytop is an established player in China’s hepatology thanks to Pegbing, which became the first functional cure for HBV to secure an approval anywhere in the world.\n Aligos Therapeutics has secured a $25 million cash infusion in return for selling the China rights to its phase 2-stage chronic hepatitis B virus (HBV) treatment to hepatology biopharma Amoytop.California\'s Aligos already has a relationship with Fujian, China-based Amoytop, focused on a preclinical antisense oligonucleotide (ASO) program, also aimed at HBV infection. The latest deal centers on pevifoscorvir sodium, a capsid assembly modulator (CAM-E).Aligos has taken pevifoscorvir sodium into a phase 2 study where it’s going head-to-head with tenofovir disoproxil fumarate, a widely used antiviral marketed by Gilead as Viread. Topline data are expected to read out next year.The biotech has touted pevifoscorvir sodium’s dual mechanisms of action to not only prevent HBV DNA integration but also reduce the covalently closed circular DNA (cccDNA) reservoir. Current nucleos(t)ide analog treatments for HBV fail to eradicate this reservoir, allowing the virus to continue to replicate in liver cells.In return for the rights in Greater China, Amoytop is paying $25 million and has pledged up to $420 million in clinical, regulatory and sales milestones, along with tiered, high single-digit royalties should pevifoscorvir sodium make it to market in the region. Aligos, which entered the year with $77.8 million in the bank, said this morning’s deal extends its cash runway from the third to the fourth quarter of 2026.Amoytop is an established player in China’s hepatology market thanks to Pegbing, which became the world’s first functional cure for HBV to secure an approval anywhere when Chinese regulators gave it the green light in October 2025.Aligos CEO Lawrence Blatt, Ph.D., said he believes pairing pevifoscorvir sodium with Pegbing—along with the ASO collaboration—will “enable differentiated combination regimens and more personalized treatment approaches for patients with chronic HBV infection across Greater China.”“As the leading provider of pegylated interferon for chronic HBV infection in Mainland China, Amoytop is well-positioned to commercialize pevifoscorvir sodium across the licensed territories,” Blatt continued.“With a robust commercial organization comprised of sales representatives focused on the hepatology field, Amoytop has the scale and expertise to support broad adoption,” the CEO added. “Amoytop’s strong reach in the Mainland China hepatology market is expected to accelerate the development of pevifoscorvir sodium for chronic HBV suppression compared to Aligos developing in the region.”Elsewhere, GSK is gearing up to take its own “functional cure” for HBV to regulators this year after the Big Pharma hit the primary endpoints of a pair of phase 3 studies for its Ionis Pharmaceuticals-partnered ASO bepirovirsen. And Arbutus just yesterday said it received FDA fast-track designation for its RNAi therapeutic, imdusiran, for the treatment of chronic HBV.