The firm’s lead candidate has shown strong tolerability in an early-stage trial for idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis, sparking hopes for registration-enabling studies and a streamlined development plan.

China's JW Therapeutics nets $90m for cancer cell therapy, including backing from biotechs Celgene and WuXi. Meanwhile, Foghorn sounds out a $50m A round for its gene trafficking technology applications.

Tommy Lin, head of Business Development and Global Licensing for HEC Pharma, talks to Scrip’s Brian Yang on how the Chinese domestic drug company is looking to develop its anti-fibrosis drug in the US.

The cost of hepatitis C drugs has prompted strong reactions across the world from India to Spain, but not so in Brazil where the government looks close to agreeing a favorable price with the manufacturers. Unfazed by its faltering economy and increasingly unsustainable healthcare system, Brazil's health ministry says it is set to offer free access to Bristol-Myers Squibb's Daklinza (daclatasvir), Gilead's Sovaldi (sofosbuvir) and Janssen's Olysio (simeprevir).