Hanmi Pharm "Velpatasvir Confirmed as Potential Target for Untreated Variant Solid Tumors"

Potential for Innovation Through Combination Therapy in BRAF Class II/III Mutant Solid Tumors
Presented

Hanmi Pharmaceutical announced on the 6th that Professor Kim Tae-won, Director of the Cancer Hospital at Seoul Asan Medical Center, delivered an oral presentation on the results of the Phase 1b clinical study (HM-RAFI-103) evaluating the antitumor efficacy of the combination therapy of belvarafenib and cobimetinib in patients with BRAF Class II/III mutations at the 'European Society for Medical Oncology (ESMO Congress 2023)' held in Madrid, Spain, from the 20th to the 24th of last month (local time).

Kim Tae-won, Director of the Cancer Hospital at Seoul Asan Medical Center, is presenting the research results of 'HM-RAFI-103' orally at the European Society for Medical Oncology (ESMO Congress 2023) held in Madrid, Spain, on the 23rd (local time).
[Photo by Hanmi Pharmaceutical]

ESMO is the largest cancer-related conference in Europe and is considered one of the world's top three oncology societies alongside the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) and the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR).

The study results pertain to a sub-cohort analysis of 15 patients (with melanoma, non-small cell lung cancer, and colorectal cancer) identified with mutations such as BRAF fusion/Indel among a total of 133 patients with RAS/RAF gene mutations across various solid tumors.

According to the analysis, the objective response rate (ORR) in this sub-cohort was 67% (10 out of 15 patients), and the disease control rate (DCR) was 93.3%. The median duration of response (DOR) was 12 months, and the median progression-free survival (PFS) was 13.7 months.

Belvarafenib is an oral targeted anticancer agent originally developed by Hanmi Pharmaceutical. It acts by inhibiting RAF and RAS, which are part of the mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) pathway that mediates intracellular signal transduction. In September 2016, it was licensed out to Genentech, a member of the Roche Group, for $910 million (approximately 1.18 trillion KRW).

RAF and RAS each consist of three subtypes (ARAF, BRAF, CRAF / HRAS, KRAS, NRAS), and mutations in these are known to cause cancer. In particular, mutations in BRAF, KRAS, and NRAS are identified as causes of various cancers.

A Hanmi Pharmaceutical representative stated, "We will continue to conduct various studies to further solidify the efficacy of belvarafenib. We will do our best to rapidly commercialize innovative treatments for patients suffering from cancer and fulfill our fundamental mission as a pharmaceutical company that exists for the betterment of humanity’s lives."

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