Chinese pharma firms led by Kelun are moving fast to develop the next-generation of cytotoxic "warheads," a key component of antibody-drug conjugates, disclosed company executives at conference in Suzhou.

China continues to dominate the latest list of global billionaires and top execs from domestic pharma firms Hengrui and Hansoh ranked among the wealthiest overall in the country, along with the founder of vaccine maker Zhifei Bio. A number of top Chinese biopharma business executives also featured in the global top 100 billionaires list.

Chinese pharma companies are continuing to pile into the already overcrowded domestic anti-PD-1/L1 sector in China, but despite the competition and regulatory tightening, the latecomers are looking for opportunities in areas such as cervical and small cell lung cancer with relatively fewer contenders.

Moderna and Life Edit will team up to develop transformative or curative therapies for challenging genetic diseases. Erytech and Pherecydes unveil plan to merge and extend runway into 2024.