Kyorin Pharma is to end operations at its US subsidiary ActivX 18 years since its acquisition. Although the California firm’s kinase-probing technology has contributed to Kyorin’s R&D, the Japanese firm acknowledged limits to future applicability in the development of candidate compounds.

Eisai has decided to shut down its US oncology research operation H3 by September in the course of restructuring its global R&D organization. The majority of H3 employees will be laid off as Eisai Inc. and new organization DHBL absorb its functions and assets. Meanwhile another Japanese pharma firm, Astellas, builds up its US R&D footprint.

The COVID-19 pandemic drove huge shifts in clinical trial practice and the transformation is expected to continue even after the global health emergency abates. Industry leaders sharing their predictions around clinical development homed in on decentralized trials, digitization and data tools as key topics for 2022.