K-made new anti-cancer drugs to unveil at conference

The effectiveness of Rivoceranib has been confirmed in various solid cancers, such as liver cancer·cholangiocarcinoma·esophageal cancer

TiumBio·ABION BIO·Eutilex will unveil the results of their candidates, including immune checkpoint inhibitors and CAR-T

South Korea-based pharmaceutical and biotech companies will unveil their clinical results at the European Society for Medical Oncology (ESMO) Congress (ESMO 2024), which will be held for four days from September 13th.

 

Korean pharmaceutical and biotech industry will unveil their positive clinical trial results at the world's largest cancer conference.

 

The clinical outcomes of various new drug candidates from the South Korea-based pharmaceutical and biotech companies will be presented at the European Society for Medical Oncology (ESMO) Congress (ESMO 2024), which will be held for four days from September 13th.

 

ESMO is one of the three renowned cancer associations, next to the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) and the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO).

 

Rivoceranib demonstrated effectiveness in various solid cancers

HLB group will unveil research outcomes for its targeted therapy Rivoceranib for various cancers, including liver cancer, cholangiocarcinoma, esophageal cancer, melanoma, thyroid cancer, and ovarian cancer.

 

According to industry sources on September 5th, during ESMO 2024, HLB group will unveil research outcomes for its targeted therapy Rivoceranib for various cancers, including liver cancer, cholangiocarcinoma, esophageal cancer, melanoma, thyroid cancer, and ovarian cancer.

 

HLB group and Jiangsu Hengrui Pharmaceuticals are evaluating the clinical efficacy of the combination of Rivoceranib, a vascular endothelial growth factor receptor-2 (VEGFR2) inhibitor, and camrelizumab, an immune checkpoint inhibitor.

 

In May, the companies applied for U.S.

 

Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval for Rivoceranib in combination with camrelizumab, a PD-1 immune checkpoint inhibitor, as a new drug for liver cancer.

 

However, they received a complete response letter (CRL) request.

 

In liver cancer, Rivoceranib plus camrelizumab recorded the final overall survival (OS) of 23.8 months, which was most prolonged result among other competing drugs.

 

During ESMO 2024, the companies will unveil additional analysis on quality-of-life improvement of the combination therapy in patients with liver cancer.

 

HLB group and Jiangsu Hengrui Pharmaceuticals will also unveil the positive results of the combination therapy for various solid cancers, including cholangiocarcinoma and thyroid cancer.

 

The results from the clinical trial involving 28 patients with cholangiocarcinoma showed that patients treated with Rivoceranib plus camrelizumab combination therapy had a median OS of 12.8 months and a progression-free survival (PFS) of 6.3 months.

 

They confirmed twice more prolonged survival than the average 6-7 months for non-operable patients.

 

Patients treated with Rivoceranib plus camrelizumab combination therapy had a 50% objective response rate (ORR).

 

The results of the Rivoceranib monotherapy for thyroid cancer will be presented.

 

According to the clinical results to date, 13 patients with thyroid cancer who have taken Rivoceranib showed an ORR of 53.8% in perioperative adjuvant therapy.

 

Disease control rate (DC) showing cancer that is maintained without reduction or enlargement were observed in all patients.

 

Post-surgical results following Rivoceranib monotherapy showed 84.6% complete resection, where the remaining cancer cells are no longer detected.

 

During ESMO 2024, HLB group will also unveil the final clinical results of the Rivoceranib plus camrelizumab combination therapy used as adjuvant therapy for patients with esophageal cancer.

 

Studies for potential drugs with various mechanisms of actions, immune checkpoint inhibitors·CAR-T, are underway TiumBio, ABION BIO, and Eutilex will present the clinical trial results of new drug candidates with various mechanisms of action, such as immune checkpoint inhibitors and chimeric antigen receptor-T cell (CAR-T) therapies.

 

During the conference, TiumBio will unveil the additional results of the Phase 1b trial for TU2218, an immune checkpoint inhibitor candidate, in combination with MSD's immune checkpoint inhibitor Keytruda.

 

The results to be disclosed will include the safety data of the combination therapy and the anti-tumor responses of patients with advanced solid cancers.

 

TU2218 blocks pathways of transforming growth factor beta (TGF-ß) and vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), which are known to hinder cancer immunotherapy activation.

 

TU2218's mechanism maximizes the efficacy of cancer immunotherapy.

 

TiumBio is conducting a Phase1b trial in three clinical institutes in the United States to evaluate the efficacy and safety of TU2218 in combination with Keytruda in patients with advanced solid tumors.

 

During the Phase 1b trial, TiumBio confirmed partial response (PR) from two patients and stable disease (SD) from three patients out of five patients who are evaluable for efficacy.

 

Also, TU2218 showed an ORR of 40% and a disease control rate (DCR) of 100%.

 

ABION BIO will unveil the clinical results of vabametkib, a candidate product for targeted treatment of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC).

 

Vabametkib targets NSCLC's c-MET mutations.

 

C-MET is one of the proteins transmitting a signal to cells expressing the MET (MNNG HOS transforming gene) gene.

 

It is considered a cancer-causing gene.

 

This gene is associated with various solid cancers, including lung cancer, colorectal cancer, gastric cancer, and liver cancer.

 

C-MET mutations are known to occur in 6% of all NSCLC patients.

 

Based on the clinical results, treating vabametkib in patients with c-MET mutation NSCLC who failed prior therapy had an ORR of 52.9%.

 

Patients who had not received prior treatment had an ORR of 75%.

 

Eutilex will participate in a poster session, presenting the clinical results of its CAR-T candidate EU307 for patients with liver cancer.

 

EU307 is a CAR-T treatment targeting GPC3, which is abnormally overexpressed in liver cancer cells without affecting healthy cells.

 

EU307 has been designed to raise the CART-T function by inhibiting the immune-related cytokine, 'interleukin (IL)-18,' and to improve the tumor microenvironment (TME).

 

The TME blocks immune cells from entering tissues located near cancers, inhibits cancer metastasis, and improves survival.

 

EU307's clinical trial was designed as Phase 1, a dose-escalation multi-center approach to evaluate the safety, tolerability, pharmacokinetics (PK), pharmacodynamics (PD), and anti-tumor activity.

 

The study participants included 'patients with GPC3-positive advanced liver cancer who failed the standard therapy.'