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HUTCHMED hit a milestone with the Hong Kong marketing approval of ELUNATE® (fruquintinib), a drug to help treat metastatic colorectal cancer. This groundbreaking achievement makes it the first medicine to have passed the innovative “1+” mechanism by the government, offering a ray of hope to patients across the SAR.

As the first oral targeted therapy endorsed in Hong Kong for metastatic colorectal cancer (regardless of biomarker status or prior types of therapies) in nearly a decade, ELUNATE® is a game-changer for patients.

Fruquintinib’s success extends beyond Hong Kong! In addition to approvals in mainland China, Macau SAR and the United States, the future looks brighter for those battling colorectal cancer in Hong Kong and beyond.  

HUTCHMED has joined a prestigious line-up of 60 enterprises in partnership with the Hong Kong-Shenzhen Innovation and Technology Park to bolster fresh research and development initiatives. Part of this move includes investigating the creation of R&D operations in Hong Kong.

A commitment to innovation and growth bolsters the strategic advantages of this fruitful partnership, which also benefits from Hong Kong’s low tax rates and highly open capital market.

HUTCHMED looks forward to embarking on this ambitious partnership, which is sure to drive medical advancements and have a global impact on healthcare.

In the world of health supplements, it used to be enough to offer just vitamins and minerals. But now, consumers demand nootropics and other new categories of supplements that improve mental health, mental performance and achieve “beauty from within”.  

Those suffering from metastatic colorectal cancer will soon have another option that could improve their survival rates and extend their lives. HUTCHMED’s partner, global pharmaceutical firm Takeda, has obtained approval from the US Food and Drug Administration to make FRUZAQLA™ (fruquintinib) available on the US market.

The drug has been approved for use in patients as part of a treatment protocol that gives them another chance when other treatments such as chemotherapy have proven ineffective. The development partnership with Takeda is part of a broader global partnership strategy. Achieving this watershed will trigger the delivery of sales royalties as well as a milestone payment as part of a deal that will total up to US$1.13 billion.  

Scientists are making incredible progress in using vaccines to combat cancer, bringing hope for improved cancer treatments in the future. Researchers at CK Life Sciences are developing vaccines that can slow down the growth and spread of cancer or prevent its recurrence after surgery.

One of their promising vaccines targets two proteins, PD-L1 (programmed death ligand 1) and PRAME (preferentially expressed antigen in melanoma), which are involved in promoting cancer. Normally, the immune system uses T cells to attack cancer cells, but PD-L1 puts the brakes on T cells, preventing them from doing their job. PRAME, on the other hand, promotes cancer cell growth and spread.

CK Life Science’s PD-L1/PRAME dual-targeting vaccine works by stimulating the immune system to produce T cells that can specifically kill cancer cells that have PD-L1 and/or PRAME. It also triggers the production of antibodies that can block PD-L1, allowing the T cells to attack cancer cells more effectively. Additionally, antibodies against PRAME further enhance the killing of cancer cells.

CK Life Sciences presented their innovative research on this vaccine at the Society for Immunotherapy of Cancer (SITC) 2023 Annual Meeting in San Diego, showcasing its potential for treating liver cancer.  

A.S. Watson has long been at the forefront of AI adoption. From back-end operations to putting a virtual makeover smile on customers’ faces, it has its own dedicated AI teams coding, testing and delivering the future. A.S. Watson? Welcome to AI Watson!  

HUTCHMED has passed key milestones to be accepted for review for use in the US and Europe. The fruquintinib New Drug Application has been accepted by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The FDA has also granted priority review, with the Prescription Drug User Fee Act (PDUFA) date set for 30 November 2023. The Market Authorization Application in Europe has also been validated and accepted for regulator review by the European Medicines Agency. Results of the Phase III FRESCO‑2, a key study that supported the regulatory submissions, were published in The Lancet, one of the world’s most prestigious and well-respected medical journals.  

HUTCHMED’s fruquintinib is now targeting second-line gastric cancer. A Phase III study, involving 703 patients, has shown a statistically significant impact in improving progression-free survival (PFS) when combined with another drug, paclitaxel. PFS is the length of time during and after the treatment of a disease wherein a patient lives with the disease but it does not get worse.

HUTCHMED has recently completed patient enrolment of ESLIM-01, the Phase III clinical trial of sovleplenib for the treatment of immune thrombocytopenia (ITP), an autoimmune disorder that can lead to increased risk of bleeding. ITP can often be serious and can have a significant, multifaceted impact on patients’ health and quality of life. Patients often become resistant to treatment over time and new treatment options are desperately needed. The drug has been granted Breakthrough Therapy Designation for ITP in China. It is also being studied for use in indolent non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma and multiple subtypes of B-cell malignancies.

PharusDx, a CK Life Sciences and CK Hutchison investee, is developing a test that would provide fast, accurate diagnosis of not one but multiple types of cancer – all from a single blood sample. And it is using AI to do it.  

HUTCHMED’s global Phase III registration trial of its colorectal cancer-fighting drug, fruquintinib, aims to gain the regulatory approvals needed to bring it to cancer patients around the world. A 14-country study is the next step in bringing new options to doctors and new hope to families struggling with cancer.  

Patient access to novel treatments just got easier in parts of China. HUTCHMED’s surufatinib (SULANDA® in China) has been approved in the Macau Special Administrative Region. This drug has benefited over 12,000 patients with neuroendocrine tumours in China.

HUTCHMED’s first in-licensed product tazemetostat (TAZVERIK®) has been approved for use in Hainan Boao Lecheng International Medical Tourism Pilot Zone under the Clinically Urgently Needed Imported Drugs scheme. TAZVERIK® is a first-in-class EZH2 inhibitor that has been approved by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for the treatment of certain patients with follicular lymphoma and advanced epithelioid sarcoma, a type of blood cancer and soft-tissue cancer, respectively.  

Twelve innovative new companies are going to be welcomed to the House of Emerging Technology of Rome to get a boost from Wind Tre and partners. The House of Emerging Technology will select tech start-ups using AI, blockchain, Internet of Things (IoT) or 5G to address two areas of strategic importance for the city of Rome: mobility and tourism. This partnership is co-financed by the Italian Ministry of Economic Development, select Roman universities and corporate partners including Wind Tre. The House will provide aspiring innovators and citizens with a home to develop and share ideas, test new technologies and transfer acquired knowledge.

The COVID-19 pandemic has made clear the importance of medical and biotechnology research as essential for protecting the health of the public and strengthening the future of medicine. In light of this, the Li Ka Shing Foundation (LKSF) has recently gifted HK$150 million to the Faculty of Medicine at the Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK). It will be matched by an equivalent amount from the government for a total development fund of HK$300 million. The funds will support research and the development of biomedical technologies. Mr Li Ka-shing has been impressed in the past by CUHK’s commitment to strengthening research, pushing forward on new discoveries and enhancing medical services. He links this progress to that of Hong Kong as a city, stating that “ensuring a more humanistic and technologically innovative future of healthcare is critical to the economic vibrancy of our city”.

In addition, LKSF has donated HK$5 million to support the Hong Kong Academy of Nursing to expand its premises. The gift will target specialist training, allowing more nurses to pursue their professional development and raise the quality of healthcare in Hong Kong.

Authorities in the Macau Special Administrative Region have approved the commercialisation of ELUNATE® (fruquintinib). ELUNATE® gained its first approval in Mainland China by the National Medical Products Administration (“NMPA”) in September 2018 for the treatment of metastatic colorectal cancer. It is estimated that more than 40,000 patients have benefited from this novel treatment since its launch. It is the first homegrown innovative oncology drug to be marketed in Macau based on NMPA approval.

A new wave of HUTCHMED innovation is also on the way. In January 2022, sovleplenib was granted Breakthrough Therapy Designation by the NMPA. The designation allows accelerated development of new drugs that treat life-threatening diseases or serious conditions which lack effective treatment options. Sovleplenib has demonstrated encouraging results in patients with immune thrombocytopenia (“ITP”), an autoimmune bleeding disorder that can often have a significant, multifaceted impact on patients’ health and quality of life. It is now being studied in a China Phase III trial on ITP, along with additional studies on lymphoma ongoing in China, the US and Europe.  

Northumbrian Water has been awarded over £6 million in the second round of the Water Breakthrough Challenge, led by the UK’s water regulator, Ofwat. The funds will advance projects which will help to reduce leakage and enable innovation across the utilities sector. The award will flow to two separate projects: the National Leakage Research and Test Centre and Stream, an open data-sharing platform to improve collaborative research.

China’s National Reimbursement Drug List aims to make life-saving drugs accessible to citizens in Mainland China and has expanded the number of HUTCHMED medicines on the list. The latest to be included is SULANDA® (surufatinib), following its approval for the treatment of advanced pancreatic neuroendocrine tumours. This latest update of the list also renewed ELUNATE® (fruquintinib), first included in 2020, for the treatment of metastatic colorectal cancer.  

Orpathys® (savolitinib, for lung cancer) and Sulanda® (surufatinib, for neuroendocrine tumours) have both been approved for use and then launched in Mainland China this year. Both drugs are unique, novel therapies created by HUTCHMED. Orpathys® is the only targeted medicine approved for these biomarker-selected patients in the Mainland. Sulanda®’s two recent approvals make it the first-ever drug launched to counter neuroendocrine tumours regardless of tumour origin, and approvals are also being sought in major jurisdictions such as the US and Europe.  

Tactical donations make a difference to help tackle one, or even several, problems. But a series of strategic donations will bolster the entire biological, bioengineering and biomedical establishment in Hong Kong with world-class platforms and integrative thinking.  

HUTCHMED welcomes the approval of Surufatinib for the treatment of non-pancreatic neuroendocrine tumours. A 420-strong commercial team will now bring the drug – discovered and developed completely in-house – to doctors and patients across Mainland China to help fight cancer. It will be marketed under the brand name Sulanda®. The pharmaceutical innovator has also initiated a rolling submission of its New Drug Application to the US Food and Drug Administration.