Bearded vultures: Back from the brink
Bearded vultures have a wing span up to 2.85 meters (9.3 feet) allowing them to hunt over 700 kilometers (435 miles) in a day. The feathers on their neck, head and torso are naturally white, but they dye them orange by covering themselves in the iron oxide-rich mud found in the mountains and highlands where they live. However, their name comes from the distinctive black tuft of feathers under their beak. Hansruedi Weyrich/Vulture Conservation Foundation
Bearded vultures are scavengers, and up to 85% of their diet is bone. Historically, they were called 'ossifrage,' derived from the Latin for 'bone breaker.' They mostly swallow bones whole, their strong stomach acid breaking them down, but if a bone is too big, they will drop it from height onto a rock to break it and expose the nutrient rich marrow inside. Hansruedi Weyrich/Vulture Conservation Foundation
While Alpine farmers no longer blame the vultures for missing sheep, or children, the birds are still threatened. Accidental poisoning through eating animal carcasses containing drugs, pathogens or steroids, collisions with power lines and wind turbines and habitat degradation have reduced the global population — which spans from western Spain to China — by as much as 29% in the last three generations. Exacerbating this problem is their slow breeding rate. A breeding pair will only lay one or two eggs a year, and even if both hatch, the stronger chick will kill its weaker sibling. Here, a bearded vulture in the wild shows off its name-sake feathers. Hansruedi Weyrich/Vulture Conservation Foundation
Initial attempts by conservationists to reintroduce the bearded vulture involved capturing birds in Afghanistan and releasing them in the Alps, but the project failed due to the difficulty in capturing and transporting the birds. However, in 1986, three birds that had been raised in captivity at a center in Austria were released successfully in the country's mountains, leading to a flurry of further releases across the Alps. The young birds are put in artificial nests on cliffs, enabling them to acclimatize to the new environment, and after 20 to 30 days they take their first flight. Young bearded vultures are known for traveling vast distances. In 2020, one bird flew 1,200 kilometers (745 miles) from Haute-Savoie in the French Alps to the Peak District in the north of England. Regardless of how far they roam, when they reach adulthood, they typically return home. Here, conservationists climb to a release site in the Bavarian Alps in June, 2021. Hansruedi Weyrich/Vulture Conservation Foundation
The Alpine population is increasing 'exponentially,' José Tavares, director of the Vulture Conservation Foundation, told CNN. Now that the population is stable, the team have started releasing genetically distinct birds to increase the diversity of the population so 'they're fully equipped to survive, even in a period of climate change.' Pictured here, a captive-bred chick at Vallcalent Specialized Breeding Unit in Spain. Hansruedi Weyrich/Vulture Conservation Foundation
While releases in the Alps are winding down as the population grows naturally, the VCF is working on 'replication and expansion' projects in Valencia and Andalucia in Spain, the Massif Central in France, and the Balkans, as well as possible projects in North Africa, said Tavares. Here, a bearded vulture is photographed among griffon vultures in the Spanish Catalan Pyrenees. William Van Hecke/Corbis/Getty Images
Another conservation project in the Maloti-Drakensberg mountains of Lesotho and South Africa is working to save the last bearded vultures in the southern hemisphere. The Bearded Vulture Recovery Program did not have a captive breeding program when it started, so instead, when a vulture lays two eggs, the team takes the second egg from the nest, which would be killed by its sibling anyway, and raises the chicks in captivity before releasing them. They are now raising 27 birds in captivity and aim to reach 150 breeding pairs in the wild. With these global conservation efforts, there is hope that bearded vultures will continue to soar across mountains all over the world. Pictured here, a bearded vulture in flight in Giant's Castle Game Reserve, South Africa. Education Images/Universal Images
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Detailed results from the trial will be shared at a future medical meeting. Zai Lab holds the development and commercialization rights for bemarituzumab for mainland China, Hong Kong, Macau, and Taiwan. Bemarituzumab has been granted Breakthrough Therapy designation by the China Center for Drug Evaluation of the National Medical Products Administration for the treatment of FGFR2b-positive gastric and gastroesophageal junction adenocarcinoma. A Phase 3 study of bemarituzumab plus chemotherapy and nivolumab is also ongoing in patients with first-line gastric cancer, with data readout anticipated in H2 2025. About FGFR2b The FGFR2b protein (also known as fibroblast growth factor receptor 2b) is an emerging biomarker which, when overexpressed, promotes aberrant signaling leading to tumor cell proliferation.2 The FGFR2b protein is overexpressed by G/GEJ tumor cells in approximately 38% of patients with advanced G/GEJ cancer. FGFR2b protein overexpression is defined as 2+/3+ staining intensity on tumor cell membrane, as detected by immunohistochemistry (IHC) testing. In approximately 16% of patients with advanced G/GEJ cancer, FGFR2b protein overexpression is observed on ≥10% of tumor cells by IHC.3 About FORTITUDE-101 FORTITUDE-101 is a randomized, multi-center, double-blind, placebo-controlled Phase 3 study of bemarituzumab plus mFOLFOX6 versus placebo plus mFOLFOX6 as first-line therapy in advanced G/GEJ cancer with FGFR2b overexpression. The FORTITUDE-101 trial spanned 300 sites across 37 countries, with 547 patients enrolled. The primary outcome measure of the trial is overall survival in patients with FGFR2b ≥10% 2+/3+ tumor cell staining. Key secondary outcome measures include progression-free survival and overall response rate. Candidates were excluded from the trial if they were known to be human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2) positive. FORTITUDE-101 included more comprehensive ocular-related monitoring than previous studies of bemarituzumab. About Gastric Cancer in China Gastric cancer is the fifth most common cancer worldwide, while China bears one of the highest gastric cancer burdens in the world with an estimated 358,700 new cases and 260,400 deaths annually.4 In China, approximately 80% of gastric cancer patients are diagnosed at an advanced or metastatic stage5. For those diagnosed with Stage IV gastric cancer, the overall 5-year survival rate is less than 10%6. Patients with advanced gastric and GEJ cancer that overexpress the FGFR2b protein may be associated with poor prognosis7-10. About Zai Lab Zai Lab is an innovative, research-based, commercial-stage biopharmaceutical company based in China and the United States. We are focused on discovering, developing, and commercializing innovative products that address medical conditions with significant unmet needs in the areas of oncology, immunology, neuroscience, and infectious disease. Our goal is to leverage our competencies and resources to positively impact human health worldwide. For additional information about Zai Lab, please visit or follow us at Zai Lab Forward Looking Statements This press release contains forward-looking statements relating to our future expectations, plans, and prospects, including, without limitation, statements regarding the prospects and plans for developing and commercializing bemarituzumab, the potential benefits of bemarituzumab, and the potential treatment of gastric and gastroesophageal junction cancer. All statements, other than statements of historical fact, included in this press release are forward-looking statements, and can be identified by words such as "aim," "anticipate," "believe," "could," "estimate," "expect," "forecast," "goal," "intend," "may," "plan," "possible," "potential," "will," "would," and other similar expressions. Such statements constitute forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements are not statements of historical fact or guarantees or assurances of future performance. Forward-looking statements are based on our expectations and assumptions as of the date of this press release and are subject to inherent uncertainties, risks, and changes in circumstances that may differ materially from those contemplated by the forward-looking statements. We may not actually achieve the plans, carry out the intentions, or meet the expectations or projections disclosed in our forward-looking statements, and you should not place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements. Actual results may differ materially from those indicated by such forward-looking statements as a result of various important factors, including but not limited to (1) our ability to successfully commercialize and generate revenue from our approved products, (2) our ability to obtain funding for our operations and business initiatives, (3) the results of our clinical and pre-clinical development of our product candidates, (4) the content and timing of decisions made by the relevant regulatory authorities regarding regulatory approvals of our product candidates, (5) risks related to doing business in China, and (6) other factors identified in our most recent annual and quarterly reports and in other reports we have filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). We anticipate that subsequent events and developments will cause our expectations and assumptions to change, and we undertake no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events, or otherwise, except as may be required by law. These forward-looking statements should not be relied upon as representing our views as of any date subsequent to the date of this press release. Our SEC filings can be found on our website at and the SEC's website at REFERENCES Bray F, et al. CA Cancer J Clin. 2024;74(3);229-263 Wainberg ZA, et al. Lancet Oncol. 2022;23(11):1430-40 Rha SY, et al. JCO Precis Oncol. 2025; 9 (e2400710). DOI:10.1200/PO-24-00710 Bray F, Laversanne M, Sung H, et al. Global cancer statistics 2022: GLOBOCAN estimates of incidence and mortality worldwide for 36 cancers in 185 countries. CA Cancer J Clin. 2024;74(3):229-263. Health Commission of The People's Republic Of China N. National guidelines for diagnosis and treatment of gastric cancer 2022 in China (English version). Chin J Cancer Res. 2022;34(3):207-237. Li HQ, Zhang H, Zhang HJ, Wang YX, Wang XB, Hou HF. Survival of gastric cancer in China from 2000 to 2022: A nationwide systematic review of hospital-based studies. J Glob Health 2022;12:11014. Catenacci D, et al. Presented at American Society of Clinical Oncology; June 4-8, 2021; Online Virtual Scientific Program. Abstract 4010. Ahn S, et al. Mod Pathol. 2016;29:1095-1103. Ishiwata T. Front Biosci (Landmark Ed). 2018;23:626-639. Wainberg ZA, et al. Lancet Oncol. 2022;23:1430-1440. 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