The NDA for New Indication of Henlius Anti-PD-1 mAb Serplulimab in Combination with Chemotherapy for the First-line Treatment of non-squamous NSCLC Accepted by the NMPA

SHANGHAI, Dec. 12, 2023  /PRNewswire/ — Shanghai Henlius Biotech, Inc. (2696.HK) announced that the NDA for new indication of HANSIZHUANG, serplulimab, an innovative anti-PD-1 mAb independently developed by the company, in combination with chemotherapy as a first-line treatment for patients with locally advanced or metastatic non-squamous non-small cell lung cancer (nsNSCLC) has been accepted by the National Medical Products Administration (NMPA), which is the fifth indication for HANSIZHUANG accepted by the NMPA. To date, HANSIZHUANG has been approved for the treatment of microsatellite instability-high (MSI-H) solid tumors, squamous non-small cell lung cancer (sqNSCLC), extensive-stage small cell lung cancer (ES-SCLC) and esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC).

Lung cancer is the cancer with the highest global mortality rate. According to the latest data released by the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) of the World Health Organization, the number of cancer deaths worldwide in 2020 reached 9.96 million, of which approximately 1.8 million died from lung cancer, accounting for 18%. In China, the incidence rate and mortality of lung cancer rank first, and the incidence rate is increasing year by year. The non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) is the most common histological type of lung cancer, accounting for about 85% of lung cancer patients, among which nsNSCLC has the highest incidence rate. In the treatment of NSCLC, immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICI), such as PD-1/PD-L1, have developed rapidly, notably, the anti-PD-1 mAb plus chemotherapy has been recommended by the latest NCCN guidelines and CSCO guidelines as the first-line treatment for nsNSCLC, and serplulimab therefore is expected to bring a new option for patients.

The NDA for new indication of HANSIZHUANG is mainly based on a randomized, double-blind, multi-center phase 3 clinical study of HANSIZHUANG in combination with chemotherapy, or chemotherapy as a first-line treatment for patients with advanced non-squamous non-small cell lung cancer. The study results demonstrated that HANSIZHUANG in combination with chemotherapy significantly prolonged progression-free survival (PFS) compared with chemotherapy, which has met the pre-specified superiority criteria, with good safety and no detection of new safety signal.

HANSIZHUANG, Henlius’ first self-developed innovative monoclonal antibody, focuses on lung and gastrointestinal cancer and has initiated more than 10 clinical studies on immuno-oncology combination therapies worldwide. It covers the full range of first-line treatment of lung cancer, in which a head-to-head bridging trial of HANSIZHUANG versus first-line standard-of-care atezolizumab for ES-SCLC was launched in the U.S. in 2022, which is beneficial for its registration and commercialization in the U.S. In addition, the Marketing Authorization Application (MAA) for HANSIZHUANG on ES-SCLC has been validated by the European Medicines Agency (EMA), with approval expected in the first half of 2024. Previously, HANSIZHUANG was also granted orphan drug designations by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and European Commission (EC) for the treatment of SCLC. Furthermore, Henlius is steadily advancing a global phase 3 multi-center clinical research of HANSIZHUANG for the limited stage small cell lung cancer (LS-SCLC) and its first patients in China, the U.S., Europe, and Australia have been dosed, respectively.

In the future, Henlius will continue to improve its innovation capabilities to meet patients’ needs and create greater clinical value, aiming to provide more accessible, affordable, and high-quality products and solutions to patients around the world.

About HANSIZHUANG

HANSIZHUANG (recombinant humanized anti-PD-1 monoclonal antibody injection, generic name: serplulimab injection) is the first anti-PD-1 mAb for the first-line treatment of SCLC. Up to date, 4 indications are approved for marketing in China, 2 marketing applications are under review in China and the EU, and more than 10 clinical trials are ongoing across the world.

HANSIZHUANG was launched in March 2022 and has been approved by the NMPA for the treatment of MSI-H solid tumours, squamous non-small cell lung cancer (sqNSCLC), extensive-stage small cell lung cancer (ES-SCLC), and esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC). Its marketing application of the first-line treatment for ES-SCLC is under review by the EMA. Focusing on lung and gastrointestinal cancer, the synergy of HANSIZHUANG with in-house products of the company and innovative therapies are being actively promoted. It has successively obtained clinical trial approvals in China, the U.S., the EU and other countries and regions to initiate more than 10 clinical trials on immuno-oncology combination therapies in a wide variety of indications. As of now, the company has enrolled more than 3,600 subjects in China, the U.S., Turkey, Poland, Georgia and other countries and regions, and the proportion of White is over 30% in two MRCTs, making HANSIZHUANG an anti-PD-1 mAb with one of the largest global clinical data pools. The results of 3 pivotal trials of HANSIZHUANG were published in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA), Nature Medicine and the British Journal of Cancer, respectively. Furthermore, HANSIZHUANG was recommended by the CSCO Guidelines for Small Cell Lung Cancer, the CSCO Guidelines for Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer, the CSCO Guidelines for Esophageal Cancer, the CSCO Guidelines for Colorectal Cancer, the CSCO Clinical Practice Guidelines on Immune Checkpoint Inhibitor, the China Guidelines for Radiotherapy of Esophageal Cancer, and other definitive guides, providing valuable references for clinical diagnosis and treatment of tumours. On the other hand, serplulimab was granted orphan drug designations by the U.S. FDA and the EC for the treatment of SCLC, and its bridging head-to-head trial in the United States to compare HANSIZHUANG to standard of care atezolizumab (anti-PD-L1 mAb) for the first-line treatment of ES-SCLC is well under way.

About Henlius

Henlius (2696.HK) is a global biopharmaceutical company with the vision to offer high-quality, affordable, and innovative biologic medicines for patients worldwide with a focus on oncology, autoimmune diseases, and ophthalmic diseases. Up to date, 5 products have been launched in China, 1 has been approved for marketing in overseas markets, 19 indications are approved worldwide, and 3 marketing applications have been accepted for review in China, the U.S., and the EU, respectively. Since its inception in 2010, Henlius has built an integrated biopharmaceutical platform with core capabilities of high-efficiency and innovation embedded throughout the whole product life cycle including R&D, manufacturing and commercialization. It has established global innovation centers and Shanghai-based manufacturing facilities in line with global Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP), including Xuhui Plant certificated by China and the EU GMP and Songjiang First Plant certificated by China GMP.

Henlius has pro-actively built a diversified and high-quality product pipeline covering over 20 innovative monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) and has continued to explore immuno-oncology combination therapies with proprietary HANSIZHUANG (anti-PD-1 mAb) as backbone. Apart from the launched products HANLIKANG (rituximab), the first China-developed biosimilar, HANQUYOU (trastuzumab for injection, trade name in Europe: Zercepac®; trade names in Australia: Tuzucip® and Trastucip®), the first China-developed mAb biosimilar approved both in China and Europe, HANDAYUAN (adalimumab) and HANBEITAI (bevacizumab), the innovative product HANSIZHUANG has been approved by the NMPA for the treatment of MSI-H solid tumors, squamous non-small cell lung cancer (sqNSCLC) and extensive-stage small cell lung cancer (ES-SCLC), and esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC), making it the world’s first anti-PD-1 mAb for the first-line treatment of SCLC. What’s more, Henlius has conducted over 30 clinical studies for 16 products, expanding its presence in major markets as well as emerging markets.

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SOURCE Henlius