LSK BioPharma, Hengrui collaborate for trial of advanced HCC therapy

LSK BioPharma and Jiangsu Hengrui Medicine announced a clinical collaborative effort to evaluate the safety and efficacy of a combination therapy for patients with advanced hepatocellular carcinoma, according to a press release.

The combination therapy consists of LSK BioPharma’s rivoceranib — a selective and potent VEGFR-2 inhibitor — with Hengrui’s camrelizumab. Camrelizumab is a humanized anti-PD-1 monoclonal antibody currently under new drug application review in China for classic Hodgkin’s lymphoma.

“At diagnosis, hepatocellular carcinoma typically has a dismal prognosis due to a lack of treatment options and the ineffectiveness of standard systemic therapies,” Sung Chul Kim, PhD, president of LSK BioPharma, said in the release. “We are enthusiastic to work with Hengrui for the potential to help more patients by combining rivoceranib with camrelizumab.”

Hengrui is currently conducting a multicenter phase 2 study of the combination therapy in patients with advanced HCC.

Data presented at ASCO 2018 showed that the combination therapy had an objective response rate of 50% and a disease control rate of 85.7% in a phase 1 study with 14 patients evaluated.

“We are pursuing camrelizumab in about 20 clinical trials in China. There is ample scientific evidence and preliminary clinical data supporting the synergistic effects of camrelizumab when used in combination with [rivoceranib],” Lianshan Zhang, PhD, president of global research and development of Hengrui, said in the release. “We look forward to partnering with LSKB to build upon the existing preclinical and clinical data and further explore this combination therapy for patients with hepatocellular carcinoma, an area of high unmet medical needs.”

Reference: www.lskbiopharma.com; www.hengruitx.com

Disclosures: Kim is president of LSK BioPharma and Zhang is president of global research and development at Hengrui.