AsianScientist (Jan. 9, 2019) – Chinese biotech firm Innovent Biologics and global pharmaceutical company Eli Lilly and Company (Eli Lilly) have announced that their fully human anti-PD-1 therapeutic monoclonal antibody sintilimab has been granted approval for market authorization by the National Medical Products Administration of China. Marketed under the name Tyvyt®, the antibody therapy is targeted at patients with classical Hodgkin’s lymphoma (cHL) or relapsed and refractory cHL (r/r cHL).
Lymphoma is one of the common cancers in China, and cHL, a type of B-cell lymphoma, affects young and middle-aged people. Although the combination therapy of chemotherapy and radiation has a good likelihood of inducing a complete remission, patients have a 15-20 percent chance of their cancer recurring after first line treatment. Clinicians thus require a wider range of treatment options for their patients.
Tyvyt® was co-discovered by Innovent and Adimab and jointly developed by Innovent and Eli Lilly in China. The antibody binds to the PD-1 molecule on the surface of a subset of immune cells known as T-cells, thereby reactivating T-cells and unleashing an anticancer response.
“The efficacy and safety profile of Tyvyt® is well proven in the ORIENT-1 trial. The drug provides a new immuno-oncology treatment option for patients with r/r cHL. Eli Lilly will continue to collaborate with local pharmaceutical companies to bring more innovative medicines to patients and help in demonstrating local R&D capabilities in the global oncology community,” said Dr. Li Wang, senior vice-president of Eli Lilly China and head of Eli Lilly China drug development and medical affairs.
Currently, Tyvyt® is being studied in more than twenty clinical trials, including studies in patients diagnosed with non-squamous non-small cell lung cancer, gastric cancer, liver cancer and esophageal cancer.
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Source: Innovent Biologics, Inc; Photo: Shutterstock.
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