Scientists in China are growing towering hybrids of wheat and rye – taller even than some humans – in the deserts of its western Xinjiang region. The hybrids, known as triticale, can adapt more easily than wheat to challenging conditions and, in addition to providing food for humans, their stalks and leaves can be used for animal feed. “It is tolerant of poor soil, cold, drought, salinity, and wind and sand,” Kuang Feiting, the executive director of Xinjiang Maishengdao Biotechnology, the firm...
Home-grown innovative drugs make up most of the medicines China’s drug regulator has approved for sale so far this year, underscoring the country’s biotech boom. Of the 19 innovative drugs cleared by the National Medical Products Administration (NMPA), 15 came from domestic companies, according to the regulator’s website as of May 21. These include sonrotoclax, developed by global biopharmaceutical firm BeOne, for treating certain adult blood cancers. The regulator overhauled its approval...