BRIEF—China developments for Bayer and Lilly

Germany’s Bayer entered a strategic partnership with the Chinese major online pharmacy 111.

The two parties will work on areas including commercializing Bayer's prescriptions, virtual hospital and chronic disease management.

Bayer's prescription business in China is mainly in cardiovascular, infection, urology and endocrine.

Selling prescriptions online has not yet been allowed in China, but the country is testing it in Hainan province to see how to properly regulate the business.

Yoko Bio, a Nanjing-based company, has filed an abbreviated new drug application (ANDA) for its generic version of Eli Lilly's Olumiant (baricitinib), a once-daily oral therapy for rheumatoid arthritis.

The Chinese firm is aiming to be the first baricitinib generic supplier in China once the patent protection expires in 2029.

Olumiant was approved in China in 2019 to treat RA.