HLB said its Chinese partner would showcase the efficacy of its anticancer drug candidate, rivoceranib, for various indications by presenting 13 study results at the European Society for Medical Oncology (ESMO) conference.
The company expects Jiangsu Hengrui Medicine, which holds the marketing rights in China, to present two significant results in poster sessions.
ESMO is one of the most prestigious professional academic conferences in cancer research. More than 20,000 cancer researchers, oncologists, and biotechnology officials attend the meeting every year, and this year’s event will be held online from Sept. 16-21.
HLB’s partner conducted a phase 2 Triplet study on 26 eligible patients with advanced liver cancer by treating them using hepatic artery infusion chemotherapy combined with rivoceranib and camrelizumab.
The confirmed objective response rate (ORR) was 61.54 percent, and the disease control rate (DCR) was 92.31 percent, with two patients achieving complete remission of cancer.
The companies could verify the effectiveness of combination therapy of rivoceranib as the interim results showed estimated six-month progression-free survival (PFS) rate of 73.7 percent and a 12-month overall survival rate of 90.7 percent.
In another study conducted with 22 enrolled patients with cervical cancer, the combo treatment of camrelizumab, rivoceranib, and nab-paclitaxel have demonstrated promising synergistic effects as a second-line therapy, the company said.
Five patients achieved complete remission, and the ORR of the patients was 71 percent, showing potential as second-line therapy for cervical cancer with manageable side effects.
A real-world data of rivoceranib monotherapy was also published on the ESMO Congress 2021.
Of the 257 patients, 40.08 percent received rivoceranib as a first-line treatment, and 24.9 percent received as a second-line therapy and showed 25.78 percent ORR and 76.69 percent DCR.
HLB signed a binding term sheet with the U.S. Advenchen Laboratories, the original developer of rivoceranib, and acquired global rights for rivoceranib, including China.