> Traditional Chinese Medicine maker Zhongzhi Pharmaceutical Holdings raised $73 million in an initial public offering on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, but the China-based firm fell slightly in its listing this week in a spillover from volatility in Shanghai and Shenzhen. Report
> China's Sunflower Pharma plans to buy a 90% stake in Jilin Pharmaceutical and has signed a letter of intent. Release (PDF; Chinese language)
> The price band for an initial public offer of shares in Syngene International, the CRO unit of Bangalore-based Biocon, was set at INR240 ($3.78) to INR250 a share, moneycontrol.com reported, with subscriptions opening July 27 and closing July 29. Report
> Japan's Pharmaceutical and Medical Devices Agency has updated its English-language revisions of precautions for post-marketing safety measures, though with a considerable lag. Release
> A final version of the 12-nation Trans-Pacific Partnership trade pact has been delayed by concerns on unspecified provisions by Canada and others, Japanese Economic and Fiscal Policy Minister Akira Amari told a press conference Tuesday, according to the Nikkei Asian Review. Report
> EIDIA, the diagnostics unit of Japan's Eisai, said it would launch a new diagnostic kit designed to measure PIVKA-II, a tumor marker for hepatocellular carcinoma, with promotion support from the parent and the maker of the automated immunoanalyzer component, LSI Medience. Release (PDF)
> Takeda Pharmaceutical president and CEO Christophe Weber told China Daily that business in China jumped 20% last year, making it among its three biggest emerging markets that includes Russia and Brazil with overall sales in that segment forecast to reach 27% of Takeda's total by 2017. Report
> A first Singapore-origin oncology clinical trial is on the books, with broad candidate ETC-159 backed by support from the Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR) and Duke-National University of Singapore Graduate Medical School, according to a joint press release. The candidate in the Phase I trial will evaluate the safety and tolerability of ETC-159 in advanced solid tumors of up to 58 patients using an inhibitor to pathways known as Wnt signaling. Release (PDF)
> U.S.-based Provectus ($PVCT) said it will continue talks in progress for nearly a year with Sinopharm-China State Institute of Pharmaceutical Industry and Sinopharm A-Think Pharmaceutical for a licensing agreement for its cancer candidate PV-10 in China. Last week, the firm said it will work with Boehringer Ingelheim to register the candidate PV-10 in China in return for priority rights on commercialization in the country. Release
> India's Supreme Court wants the Chemicals and Fertilisers Ministry, which holds oversight of pharmaceuticals, to review the country's market-based drug pricing policy known as the Drug Price Control Order. But it stopped short of ordering remedies as sought by the All India Drug Action Network, which wants to make more life-saving medicines available to the poor at lower costs. Report
> India's National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority extended price caps on 39 drugs covering diabetes, pain and antibiotics, the Business Standard newspaper said. Report
> Beijing-based CANbridge Life Sciences has licensed greater China rights to clinical-stage anti-TNF drug candidate APG101 from German-based Apogenix for the treatment for glioblastoma multiforme, as well as an option for other indications. Apogenix will receive unspecified upfront and milestone payments, as well as royalties under a tiered formula. Release