Strong sales growth and licensing activity in 2023 helped multiple Chinese biotechs to a solid profit performance, some moving into the black for the first time.

Plus deals involving Biocytogen, Neurocrine and Ona, Aeterna Zentaris/Ceapro, Teva/Biolojic Design, Pathos AI/Rain Oncology, Inhibitor Therapeutics/Johns Hopkins and more.

Astellas says its first approval filing globally for zolbetuximab - in Japan for gastric cancer - came faster than expected, as Scrip takes a look at the latest status of other CLDN18.2-targeting candidates in late clinical trials.

AstraZeneca has been drawn back to drug development innovation in China after accelerating its rate of licensing deals with biotechs in the country over the past few months. Meanwhile, the UK multinational has also been building a network ecosystem together with a Chinese investment bank to take a long-term view in the country, a senior R&D executive told Scrip in an interview.