- Marketed in China for breast cancer
and in progress with lung cancer global Phase 3 clinical trial
- Strengthening HLB-LS’s status as an
anti-cancer drug development company by expanding pipelines following rivoceranib
HLB Life Science (“HLB-LS”, CEO Yang-gon
Jin and Sang-woo Nam) into an exclusive licensing agreement with Chinese
Pharmaceutical company, Jiangsu Hengrui
Medicine Co., Ltd (“Hengrui”) for Korean rights of its targeted
anti-cancer drug pyrotinib. Through this
licensing agreement of pyrotinib with demonstrated efficacy in Chinese
patients, HLB-LS is anticipated to strengthen its position as a
developer of innovative anti-cancer drug, given
the fact that it also holds domestic rights for another targeted anti-cancer
drug, rivoceranib.
This license agreement summarizes
HLB-LS's exclusive rights to clinical development and sales of pyrotinib as a
breast and lung cancer treatment in Korea.
Pyrotinib developed by Hengrui is an
orally available, low molecular weight anti-cancer compound targeting HER2. Due
to its superior anti-cancer effect, it is considered as a new drug with the
potential to expand into various cancer treatments in the global anti-cancer
drug market. In China, pyrotinib
received a conditional approval in 2018 as a second line treatment for HER2(+)
metastatic breast cancer followed by a formal approval this year, and has quickly
became dominant breast cancer treatment drug with overwhelming sales compared
to the existing treatment, lapatinib.
Currently, Hengrui, Asia's No. 1 anti-cancer
therapeutics company, has three pillars of anti-cancer franchise growth: rivoceranib
(Chinese name apatinib), camrelizumab
(immune checkpoint inhibitor) and pyrotinib.
Considering rights for rivoceranib
are held by Hengrui, HLB-LS and HLB for China, Korea and the rest of the world,
respectively, this license agreement providing pyrotinib Korean rights to
HLB-LS is expected to enhance collaboration between Hengrui and HLB Group at
large.
Recently,
HLB Life Science secured production expertise for several new drugs including
rivoceranib and Elevar products that HLB is
planning to market by acquiring Mediforum Pharmaceuticals, Co Ltd. Furthermore, HLB has also established
domestic sales and marketing organizations and thereby collectively laying a
foundation for the growth as a global pharmaceutical company.
Yong-Hae Han, president of HLB-LS’s Bio Business Division, said,
"We have prepared a long-term growth platform for the company through the
acquisition of Korean rights of pyrotinib following rivoceranib. Leveraging its
potential as a targeted anti-cancer drug and starting from breast cancer to
wide variety of oncology indications, we will expeditiously conduct pyrotinib bridging
trials in Korea to duplicate pyrotinib’s market success in China."