CrystalGenomics Immuno-Oncology Drug, Camrelizumab Joint Clinical Development

[Asia Economy Reporter Hyungsoo Park] CrystalGenomics and HL Biopharma will jointly advance clinical development combining camrelizumab and rivoceranib (Chinese name: apatinib).

On the 17th, CrystalGenomics and HL Biopharma announced that they signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) focused on jointly developing clinical trials for new drug substances for which both companies hold licensing rights.

HL Biopharma holds the Korean licensing rights for rivoceranib, a targeted anticancer drug substance for which HL holds global rights, as well as partial rights in Europe and Japan. CrystalGenomics holds the Korean licensing rights for camrelizumab, an immune checkpoint inhibitor (PD-1 antibody).

Camrelizumab is a competitive and highly effective immune checkpoint inhibitor (ICI) that inhibits PD-1, similar to Opdivo and Keytruda.

It received approval from the China National Medical Products Administration (NMPA) in May 2019 as a third-line treatment for classical Hodgkin lymphoma. In March last year, it was approved as a second-line treatment for liver cancer, and in June, as a first-line treatment for non-small cell lung cancer and a second-line treatment for esophageal cancer.

With both companies holding domestic development rights for camrelizumab and rivoceranib agreeing to cooperate, expansion of new indications for camrelizumab is also anticipated.

Hansoh Pharmaceutical is currently conducting global phase 3 clinical trials for liver cancer treatment using the combination therapy of camrelizumab and apatinib in the US, Europe, China, and Korea. It is also conducting phase 3 clinical trials for gastric cancer in China.

CrystalGenomics and HL Biopharma are expected to review Hansoh Pharmaceutical’s clinical pipeline, which is conducting clinical trials for various indications using the two new drug substances in combination, and then decide on new indications. They plan to research and develop first-line treatments among anticancer drugs.

A CrystalGenomics official said, "By collaborating with Hansoh Pharmaceutical and HL Biopharma, we will develop camrelizumab and apatinib, drugs verified for various indications, into best-in-class new drugs with the highest efficacy within their class in the anticancer field."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.