Daily Brief Health Care: Taisho Pharmaceutical Holdin, Zhejiang Orient Gene Biotech C, D.Western Therapeutics Institute Inc. and more

In today’s briefing:

Japan Activism: Japan Catalyst Fund Calls Out Taisho Pharma Committee on MBO Price
China Healthcare Weekly (Dec.1) – Medical Device VBP, Biotech to Breakeven Soon, Orient Gene Biotech
3Q Follow-Up – D. Western Therapeutics Institute (DWTI) (4576 JP)

Japan Activism: Japan Catalyst Fund Calls Out Taisho Pharma Committee on MBO Price

Japan Catalyst Fund is a relatively young effort in the Japan “engagement activism” space, having been founded by Monex Group in September 2019. Total assets remain apparently small.
Championed by Monex Group founder Oki Matsumoto, despite small AUM, the fund has decent access. As of end-October, Taisho Pharmaceutical Holdings (4581 JP) was #5 and 5.26%. Now it’s #2.
Friday, they released a statement about the MBO. It isn’t a barn-burner, but the stock has traded through terms since announcement at a too-low price. And nobody else has commented.

The national centralized procurement of high-value medical consumables for intraocular lens (IOL) and medical consumables related to sports medicine released results, with lower than expected price reductions.
Despite anti-corruption campaign, the business/profit model validation process of Chinese Biotech has not slowed down. There’s a chance to see Chinese Biotech turn losses into profits in 2024-2025.
Zhejiang Orient Gene Biotech (688298 CH) once brought considerable returns to investors, but now the beautiful story is over.After deletion from CSI Medical Service Index, share price could remain weak.

Major milestones with high expectations coming in the next 2-3 years: 1) Phase IIb US trials for H-1337 as “first choice as a second-line Glaucoma drug” for patients who do not respond to PGs
2) 2023 application, 2024 approval and 2025 launch of DW-1002 in Japan, 2023 application/approval/launch in China, as well as expedited development of combination formula MembraneBlue-DualR (DW-1002 + trypan blue) in the US [NEW]
3) clinical trials in 2024 in Japan and application for approval in 2025 of regenerative cell medicine DWR-2206

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