> AstraZeneca ($AZN) cancer arm MedImmune has agreed to work with Tanabe Research Laboratories U.S.A. on a strategic collaboration and licensing agreement for MedImmune's pyrrolobenzodiazepine-based warhead and linker technology. The pair hopes to generate monospecific and bispecific antibody-drug conjugates to target various cancers, according to a press release. MedImmune will receive an upfront payment, development and commercial milestone payments, and single-digit royalties on worldwide net sales. Release
> India's Glenmark Pharmaceuticals said the United States remains its hope to offset emerging market weakness this year, with CEO Glenn Saldanha citing a weaker Chinese yuan and weak oil prices for a falling share of revenues from those geographies. "Our U.S. business right now is more than compensating for the hit we are taking in emerging markets," Saldanha told Reuters. Report
> China's rapidly-growing oncology market has seen a surge in Traditional Chinese Medicine sales that contain ingredients as unlikely as toad skin and turtle shell, the Japan Times said. The newspaper cited estimates by Sinohealth Intelligence that said sales leaped 35% to almost 17 billion yuan ($2.7 billion) last year. China's overall cancer drug market of 65 billion yuan is on a pace of 17% annual growth, the Japan Times said, citing Citigroup analyst Richard Yeh. Report
> Major Japanese pharma firm Nihon Chouzai plans for a surge in annual generics production capacity, up 6-fold to 14 billion pills by fiscal 2020, the Nikkei Asian Review reports, adding that subsidiary Nihon Generic will spend 20 billion yen ($165 million) to build a plant in Tsukuba, a city northeast of Tokyo. Report
> Intra-Cellular Therapies raised $300 million through the sale of 6.9 million shares at $43.50 each that will be used to fund work on ITI-214, taking over from Takeda Pharmaceuticals which completed four Phase I trials. Release
> China said investigations are underway after at least 360 infants in Henan province were administered expired vaccines since last June, as part of routine childhood vaccination. The expired vaccines led to the death of two infants. China has yet to specify the type of vaccine or the company that made them. Report
> Clinigen Group has bought Link Healthcare for a price of GBP44.5 to GBP100 million, depending on certain sales milestones, to expand operations in pharmaceuticals and medical technology in Asia, Africa and Australasia. Release