HLB gets positive Phase 3 data with liver cancer treatment
HLB has taken a step closer to the global commercialization of its anticancer treatment Rivoceranib as it secured statistical significance in Phase 3 global clinical trials of the drug, according to the local biotech company, Sunday.
The company recently announced the Phase 3 results of the first global clinical trial of treatment for liver cancer using both Rivoceranib and Camrelizumab, which showed that the two treatments succeeded to meet primary endpoints, which means that both the efficacy and versatility of Rivoceranib has been proven, HLB explained.
HLB holds the global rights for Rivoceranib while China’s Jiangsu Hengrui Medicine holds the global rights of Camrelizumab.
“The Phase 3 trials for liver cancer treatment, which began in April 2019, were conducted on 543 patients in 13 countries including Korea, the United States and China,” a company spokesman said. “Cancer cells need oxygen and nutrients to grow and Rivoceranib effectively prevents cancer cells from growing and transferring by blocking the growth factor of new vascular endothelial growth factor receptor.”
HLB added that it will announce the entirety of the data of the Phase 3 trial at the world-renowned cancer academy.
Securing the effectiveness of Rivoceranib is meaningful as patients with liver cancer have an average survival rate of only 35 percent. Recently immune-cancer drugs have been in the spotlight as an anticancer treatment, but they have a patient response rate of around 20 percent, so, combined clinical trials such as using both Rivoceranib and Camrelizumab have emerged as a way to overcome the low response rate.
“As Rivoceranib prevents the formations of new blood vessels and shows less side effects, it is an optimal combination partner drug that can be applied to various types of cancers,” the spokesman said.