Merck & Co’s combination treatment has disappointed in a challenging group of lung cancer patients, marking yet another setback for the increasingly precarious anti-TIGIT space even as some analysts say this is not the end of the road.

A busy start to the year sees the Italian firm adding to its respiratory portfolio by gaining access to the Swedish biotech’s investigational inhaled treatments.

Simmering US-China tensions dash hopes that a recent border reopening will put many collaborations back on track, even as more than half foreign businesses now downgrade the importance of investing in China.

The recent partnerships on Claudin 18.2-targeting agents between Chinese biotechs and big pharma have brought China innovation to a new phase that Chinese firms can be proud of, an executive from Keymed Biosciences, one of the Chinese biotechs involved in such deals, tells Scrip in an interview.