Biotech entrepreneurs tend to be an optimistic group, and there were many pockets of hope for 2024. However, the consensus remains that depressed valuations and paucity of fresh funds will continue to pose a challenge for the sector, and companies will need to prioritize carefully and work even harder to demonstrate and create value.

Immuno-oncology therapies have revolutionized the treatment of many cancers over the last decade. This period has also witnessed a dramatic growth in China’s domestic pharmaceutical industry, and significant changes in the interaction between this industry and international pharma. This coalescence has led to excitement about the role that Chinese IO could play on the global stage, tempered by regulatory set-backs and revised marketing timelines. 

Private Company Edition: Westlake Village BioPartners’ latest launch 3T Biosciences also licensed a second TCR platform from Stanford University. In other recent financings, Senda raised a $123m series C round, Orna revealed a $221m series B and CPRIT funded several cancer drug developers.

Latest approval gives major US drug maker new foothold in China’s heated and increasingly crowded PD-1 immuno-oncology race.