Pharmaceuticals & Biopharmaceuticals

Seoul, South Korea – September 18, 2026 -- Yuyu Pharma has completed an 869-kilowatt (kW) solar installation at its Korean manufacturing facility, lifting total on-site solar capacity to approximately 1 megawatt (MW) and covering more than 30% of the plant's electricity needs.

New system adds to earlier 2020 and 2021 installations

The latest expansion builds on a 30 kW system installed in 2020 and a 96.6 kW system added in 2021. Combined, the three phases are expected to generate at least 1.2 million kilowatt-hours (kWh) annually, with a projected output of approximately 30.96 million kWh over 25 years.

San Rafael, Calif. – September 18, 2026 -- BioMarin Pharmaceutical Inc. (Nasdaq: BMRN) has appointed Robert Plenge, M.D., Ph.D., to its Board of Directors, effective September 18, 2026.

Plenge brings nine-site global research oversight from Bristol Myers Squibb

Dr. Plenge currently serves as Executive Vice President, Chief Research Officer and Head of Research at Bristol Myers Squibb, directing scientific operations across nine research sites worldwide. He joined the company in November 2019 through its acquisition of Celgene Corp., where he had led the immunology and inflammation portfolio in research and early development.

Boston – September 17, 2026 -- EMD Serono, Inc., the healthcare business of Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany, in the United States and Canada, has acquired two preclinical fertility drug programs from PostEra, a biotech firm built on artificial intelligence-driven small molecule discovery.

PostEra's Proton platform generated oral agonists targeting two hard-to-drug fertility receptors

The acquired programs target the follicle-stimulating hormone receptor (FSHR) and the luteinizing hormone/choriogonadotropin receptor (LHCGR), both used over two years by PostEra's AI platform Proton to design small molecule candidates for reproductive endocrinology. FSHR agonists were developed for ovarian stimulation in in vitro fertilization (IVF), while LHCGR agonists target male infertility and ovulation triggering in IVF protocols.

Staten Island, N.Y. – September 17, 2026 -- Acurx Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: ACXP) presented new in vitro data showing its lead antibiotic ibezapolstat achieved a 5.51-log reduction against Clostridioides difficile in co-culture with vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus (VRE), significantly outperforming vancomycin (p=0.0112), the current standard of care.

The poster, presented by Dr. Eugenie Bassères of the University of Houston College of Pharmacy, was unveiled at the 9th International C. difficile Symposium in Bled, Slovenia, held September 8-10, 2026.

VRE strains showed high-level resistance to vancomycin but not to ibezapolstat

All tested VRE strains exhibited vancomycin resistance with minimum inhibitory concentrations (MIC) above 128 μg/mL. Ibezapolstat and fidaxomicin maintained equivalent, lower susceptibility thresholds of 2-16 μg/mL.

Los Angeles – September 17, 2026 -- The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has granted Breakthrough Therapy designation to Armata Pharmaceuticals' AP-SA02, an intravenous multi-phage candidate for complicated Staphylococcus aureus bacteremia, stacking the designation atop existing Fast Track and Qualified Infectious Disease Product status.

Singapore – September 17, 2026 -- Researchers at the National University of Singapore (NUS) have eradicated tumours in 75 per cent of tested preclinical models using pulsed electromagnetic fields (PEMFs) alone, without chemotherapy, after just four 30-minute sessions. The study, led by Associate Professor Alfredo Franco-Obregón of the NUS Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, was published in the journal Smart Medicine on September 17, 2026.

PEMF device already cleared Phase 1 human safety trials

The same PEMF device used in the study has completed Phase 1 clinical trials, confirming its safety in humans. The NUS team is now seeking partners to fund and conduct Phase 2 efficacy trials to evaluate treatment performance in patients.

Chengdu – September 17, 2026 -- Sichuan Kelun-Biotech Biopharmaceutical Co., Ltd. (6990.HK) said phase III results for its HER2-targeted antibody-drug conjugate trastuzumab botidotin have been published in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, a journal with an impact factor of 44.7, after the drug outperformed Roche's trastuzumab emtansine (T-DM1) in a head-to-head trial and secured approval from China's National Medical Products Administration.

Gstaad – September 17, 2026 -- Tomonari Abe, President of 295-year-old Abe Yoando Pharma Co., Ltd., has become the first Japanese speaker in the history of the Longevity Investors Conference, running September 14-17, 2026 in Gstaad, Switzerland.

Global longevity market poised to hit $8 trillion by 2030

The healthy longevity sector is projected to reach approximately $8 trillion by 2030, according to a UBS Chief Investment Office research report cited by the company. International investors are increasingly focused on Japan's aging population as a testing ground for longevity science and market validation ahead of other nations.

Shanghai and Hong Kong – September 17, 2026 -- Antengene Corporation Limited (SEHK: 6996.HK) has published preclinical data showing that combining its CD73 inhibitor ATG-037 with selinexor suppressed tumor growth by 62% in a multiple myeloma mouse model, versus 31% for ATG-037 alone and 43% for selinexor alone. The peer-reviewed paper, developed with the Department of Hematology at Peking University Third Hospital, appears in Cancer Gene Therapy, an SCI journal under Springer Nature (DOI: 10.1038/s41417-026-01078-9).

Suzhou – – September 17, 2026 -- Accro Bioscience said AC-101 tablets have been included in the National Medical Products Administration's Center for Drug Evaluation (CDE) "Caring Plan-Extension" pilot program, targeting Blau syndrome as the proposed indication, with the public notice period closing September 17, 2026.

NMPA pilot program aims to accelerate rare disease drug development in China

The Caring Plan-Extension pilot, run by China's CDE, is designed to encourage innovative drug development for rare diseases. Accro Bioscience confirmed the inclusion took effect September 17, 2026, China Standard Time (UTC+8).

FDA granted AC-101 Rare Pediatric Disease designation three months earlier

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration awarded AC-101 Rare Pediatric Disease (RPD) designation for Blau syndrome in June 2026, ahead of the Chinese regulatory step.