TOKYO and KENILWORTH, N.J., Feb 25, 2022 - (JCN Newswire) - Eisai and Merck & Co., Inc., Kenilworth, N.J., U.S.A. (known as MSD outside the United States and Canada) today announced that the Japanese Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare (MHLW) has approved the combination of LENVIMA, the orally available multiple receptor tyrosine kinase inhibitor discovered by Eisai, plus KEYTRUDA, the anti-PD-1 therapy from Merck & Co., Inc., Kenilworth, N.J., U.S.A., for radically unresectable or metastatic renal cell carcinoma (RCC). LENVIMA plus KEYTRUDA is also approved in the U.S. and Europe for the first-line treatment of adult patients with advanced RCC. This marks the second approval of this combination in Japan; in December 2021, LENVIMA plus KEYTRUDA was approved for unresectable, advanced or recurrent endometrial carcinoma that progressed after chemotherapy. The approval is based on results from the pivotal Phase 3 CLEAR (Study 307)/KEYNOTE-581 trial, in which LENVIMA plus KEYTRUDA demonstrated statistically significant improvements versus sunitinib in the primary efficacy outcome measure of progression-free survival (PFS). Results showed LENVIMA plus KEYTRUDA (n=355) reduced the risk of disease progression or death by 61% (HR=0.39 [95% CI, 0.32-0.49]; p<0.0001), with a median PFS of 23.9 months versus 9.2 months for sunitinib (n=357).

"Nearly one in three cases of renal cell carcinoma are diagnosed at an advanced stage,(1) and patients are in need of new treatment options that may improve survival outcomes,(2)" said Dr. Gregory Lubiniecki, Vice President, Oncology Clinical Research, Merck & Co., Inc., Kenilworth,

N.J., U.S.A. Research Laboratories. "In the CLEAR/KEYNOTE-581 trial, KEYTRUDA plus LENVIMA reduced the risk of disease progression or death by 61% versus sunitinib, a current standard of care. We are encouraged that patients with certain types of advanced renal cell carcinoma may have the opportunity to benefit from this combination."

"Today's milestone for LENVIMA plus KEYTRUDA as a treatment for radically unresectable or metastatic renal cell carcinoma is particularly exciting as it marks the second approval for the combination in Japan," said Terushige Iike, President of Eisai Japan, Senior Vice President, Eisai. "We are thrilled to be able to provide Japanese patients with a new treatment option, illustrating our shared commitment with Merck & Co., Inc., Kenilworth, N.J., U.S.A. to develop therapies with the aim of addressing the unmet needs of those living with difficult-to-treat cancers. We would like to thank the patients, families and healthcare providers who made this approval possible."

The Japanese package inserts for LENVIMA and KEYTRUDA note that in the CLEAR/KEYNOTE-581 trial, adverse reactions were observed in 341 (96.9%) of 352 patients (including 42 of 42 Japanese patients) in the safety analysis set. The most common adverse reactions included diarrhea in 192 patients (54.5%), hypertension in 184 patients (52.3%), hypothyroidism in 150 patients (42.6%), decreased appetite in 123 patients (34.9%), fatigue in 113 patients (32.1%), stomatitis in 113 patients (32.1%), palmar-plantar erythrodysesthesia syndrome in 99 patients (28.1%), proteinuria in 97 patients (27.6%), nausea in 94 patients (26.7%), dysphonia in 87 patients (24.7%), rash in 77 patients (21.9%), and asthenia in 71 patients (20.2%).

Renal cell carcinoma is the most common type of kidney cancer worldwide; about nine out of 10 kidney cancer diagnoses are RCC.(3) In Japan, there were more than 25,000 new cases of kidney cancer diagnosed and more than 8,000 deaths from the disease in 2020.(4) Approximately 30% of patients with RCC will have metastatic disease at diagnosis.(5) Survival is highly dependent on the stage at diagnosis, and with a five-year survival rate of 14% for patients diagnosed with metastatic disease, the prognosis for these patients is poor.(6)

Eisai and Merck & Co., Inc., Kenilworth, N.J., U.S.A. continue to study the LENVIMA plus KEYTRUDA combination across several types of cancer with more than 20 clinical trials.

For more information, visit https://www.eisai.com/news/2022/pdf/enews202214pdf.pdf.


Copyright 2022 JCN Newswire. All rights reserved. www.jcnnewswire.comEisai and Merck & Co., Inc., Kenilworth, N.J., U.S.A. (known as MSD outside the United States and Canada) today announced that the Japanese Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare (MHLW) has approved the combination of LENVIMA, the orally available multiple receptor tyrosine kinase inhibitor discovered by Eisai, plus KEYTRUDA.

HONG KONG, Feb 23, 2022 - (ACN Newswire) - The biopharmaceutical company focusing on oncology therapeutics - Lepu Biopharma Co., Ltd. ("Lepu Biopharma" or the "Company", stock code: 2157.HK), has successfully listed and commenced dealings on the Main Board of the Stock Exchange of Hong Kong Limited ("Hong Kong Stock Exchange") today, under the stock code of 2157 and in board lot of 1,000 H shares each.

The share price of the Company closed at HK$7.14 per H share, with an intra-day high of HK$7.34 per H share. A total of approximately 15.8 million H shares were traded, with an aggregate turnover of approximately HK$112 million.

Lepu Biopharma is listed on the main board of HKEX, with 126,876,000 H shares being offered globally, including 12,688,000 Hong Kong Offer Shares, 114,188,000 International Placing Shares. The net proceeds received are estimated at approximately HK$804.2 million from the Global Offering, after deduction of underwriting fees, commissions and other estimated expenses payable by the Company in connection with the Global Offering. The net proceeds are intended for funding the core products, funding the other key clinical-stage drug candidates and the key pre-clinical drug candidates, acquiring potential technologies and assets and expand our pipeline of drug candidates, including discovery of new drug candidates and business development activities and to fulfill the continuous payment obligation under the acquisition of HX008 from HanX, and general corporate purposes.

Lepu Biopharma has three synergistic core technology platforms around its pipeline specializing in ADC technology, antibody discovery and advanced process and analytical development. The company also advances the clinical development of its candidates including ADC candidates, oncolytic virus candidates and combination therapies, plans to stay focused on the development of innovative products, create a pipeline for novel therapies, design and develop innovative products and build advanced technology platforms.

While Lepu Biopharma advancing its drug candidates, it has mapped out and is implementing the manufacturing and commercialization strategies. Company commenced the operation of a 2,000L GMP-compliant antibody production line in Beijing in 2019 in support of clinical trials for the antibody products. It is building a production line for oncolytic virus drugs in Beijing with a designed capacity of 200L, as well as a biologics manufacturing center in Shanghai Biotech Park, including a production line with a designed capacity of 12,000L initially, coupled with laboratories and manufacturing facilities, and one production line with capacity of 6,000L under construction.

The Founder, Chairman and Executive Director of Lepu Biopharma Co., Ltd. Dr. Pu Zhongjie said, "Today, we are very delighted to witness Lepu Biopharma to be officially listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. This is an important milestone in our history of development as well as a starting point of our new journey. We sincerely appreciated the long-term trust and cooperation from customers and shareholders. We would also like to thank our partners, the Hong Kong Stock Exchange and the Securities and Futures Commission for all the great support. With solid R&D capabilities, advanced development platforms and comprehensive pipeline, we will seize the future trend of the whole industry, strengthen our position in the market with our competitive advantages and create greater value for shareholders and investors."

About Lepu Biopharma Co., Ltd.

Lepu Biopharma was incorporated in 2018 and is a biopharmaceutical company focusing on oncology therapeutics. The Company has designed pipeline with a range of oncology products. As of [the Latest Practicable Date], the Company had pipeline including eight clinical-stage drug candidates, three pre-clinical drug candidates and three clinical-stage combination therapies of the candidates in the pipeline. In addition, the Company focus on the development of innovative drugs including ADC and oncolytic virus. According to Frost & Sullivan, the Company house the leading ADC drug candidate pipeline in China in terms of the number of clinical-stage ADC drug candidates. As of [the Latest Practicable Date], the Company had initiated 28 clinical trials, among which three had entered registration trial phase and two were ongoing in the U.S. In terms of patents, as of [the Latest Practicable Date], Company had 11 issued patents in China, 20 in the U.S., nine in Japan, seven in the European Union and one in each of South Korea, Australia, Chile, India, Colombia, Indonesia, New Zealand and Israel, and 74 pending patent applications, consisting of 15 in Mainland China and 59 in overseas jurisdictions such as the U.S., Japan, India, South Korea, Australia, Israel, India and the European Union. Patentportfolio of the Company spans across mAb structure, targeted epitope, CMC, usage, biopharmaceutical formulation and indications.

For more information on Lepu Biopharma, please visit the website https://www.lepubiopharma.com/


Copyright 2022 ACN Newswire. All rights reserved. www.acnnewswire.comThe biopharmaceutical company focusing on oncology therapeutics - Lepu Biopharma Co., Ltd. ("Lepu Biopharma" or the "Company", stock code: 2157.HK), has successfully listed and commenced dealings on the Main Board of the Stock Exchange of Hong Kong Limited ("Hong Kong Stock Exchange") today

The healthtech sector has risen consistently over the past years, but the COVID-19 pandemic undeniably accelerated that growth, acting as a catalyst for investment in an already burgeoning sector. In

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HONG KONG, Feb 17, 2022 - (ACN Newswire) - SinoMab BioScience Limited ("SinoMab" or the "Company", together with its subsidiaries, the "Group", stock code: 3681.HK), a Hong Kong-based biopharmaceutical company dedicated to the research, development, manufacturing and commercialization of therapeutics for the treatment of immunological diseases, is pleased to announce that, on 11 February 2022 (EST local time), an Investigational New Drug application ("IND"), for the Company's First-in-Class (FIC) asthma therapeutic product SM17 (Humanized anti-IL17RB monoclonal antibody for injection) has been submitted and accepted by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration ("FDA"). The Company plans to initiate the First-In-Human study in the U.S. in first quarter of 2022, once IND is approved by FDA.
SM17 is the world's first monoclonal antibodies targeting IL17BR co-developed by SinoMab and LifeArc (a medical research charity based in the United Kingdom). SM17 has a wide range of indications, including indications with large market volumes such as asthma and diseases with high mortality rates such as idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis. Comparing to other products on the market, SM17 enjoys differentiation advantages. With the preclinical data and unique mechanism of action of SM17, Company believes that SM17 potentially has a broader and more beneficial effect on asthma treatment than other approved biologics.

In the global market, the number of asthma patients is gradually increasing and is expected to reach 247.5 million by 2023 and further increase to 267.7 million by 2030. The number of asthma patients in the PRC is increasing at a greater pace than the global rate and is forecasted to reach 25.6 million by 2023 and further increase to 27.8 million by 2030. In terms of market size, the global asthma market is projected to reach US$25.1 billion by 2023 and US$34.6 billion by 2030. However, the asthma market in the PRC is expected to reach RMB36.4 billion by 2023 and RMB65.0 billion by 2030. In terms of treatment options, traditional asthma treatment is based on inhaled corticosteroid, but they are prone to serious adverse effects, especially in adolescents. Drug resistance can also develop if used for a long time. The introduction of SM17 is expected to provide a better treatment option in terms of the balance of efficacy and safety.

Dr. Shui On LEUNG, Chairman, Executive Director and Chief Executive Officer of SinoMab said that: "following the acceptance of the IND application for SN1011 for the treatment of multiple sclerosis by the NMPA, the acceptance of the SM17 IND application by the FDA fully demonstrates the efficient execution of the Company's new drug R&D program. There is still an unmet medical need for additional effective therapies, particularly for patients who do not respond to current treatments. We are therefore confident in the enormous prospects of SM17's clinical development. Our core products, including SM03, SN1011 and SM17, is making progress on the clinical R&D smoothly, driving the Company moving steadily towards commercialization. In the future, we will accelerate our projects implementation to bring benefits to patients and create value for shareholders through innovation."

About SM17
SM17 is known to be the world's first humanized, IgG4-k monoclonal antibody for new drug development, which targets IL-17RB. And IL-17RB is a type-I single transmembrane glycoprotein belonging to IL-17 receptor family. The binding of SM17 to IL-17RB could suppress Th2 immune responses induced by a category of cytokines called "alarmin", which has shown to be implicated in the pathogenesis of allergic disease and airway viral responses. Alternative approach targeting upstream mediators of the Th2 inflammatory cascade, such as "alarmins", is expected to have a broader effect on airway inflammation and to provide more effective asthma control than currently available therapies, and products with similar mechanism of action as SM17 have been approved by FDA.

About SinoMab BioScience Limited
SinoMab BioScience Limited (stock code: 3681.HK) is dedicated to the research, development, manufacturing and commercialization of therapeutics for the treatment of immunological diseases. The Company's flagship product SM03 is a potential global first-in-target mAb against CD22 for the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and is currently in Phase III clinical trial for rheumatoid arthritis in China, which has been recognized as one of the significant special projects of Significant New Drugs Development of the Twelfth Five-Year Plan Period and the Thirteenth Five-Year Plan Period. In addition, the Company possesses other potential first-in-target and first-in-class drug candidates, some of which are already in clinical stage, with their indications covering rheumatoid arthritis (RA), systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), pemphigus vulgaris (PV), non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (NHL), asthma, and other diseases with major unmet clinical needs.


Copyright 2022 ACN Newswire. All rights reserved. www.acnnewswire.comSinoMab BioScience Limited ("SinoMab" or the "Company", together with its subsidiaries, the "Group", stock code: 3681.HK), a Hong Kong-based biopharmaceutical company dedicated to the research, development, manufacturing and commercialization of therapeutics for the treatment of immunological diseases