(Alliance News) - Hutchmed (China) Ltd on Tuesday said it has launched a study into the combined use of surufatinib and toripalimab in patients with advanced neuroendocrine tumours who don't respond well to first-line chemotherapy.
The Hong-Kong based pharmaceutical company said the first patient was dosed on Friday in the Phase III trial, which is named Surtori-01.
Advanced neuroendocrine carcinoma are fast-growing tumours that can occur anywhere in the body but are most common in the gastrointestinal tract, pancreas, and lungs.
The Surtori-01 trial is taking place in China, the company said, and includes around 200 patients, who will receive treatment in a 21-day cycle. Hutchmed said the combination drug treatment will continue until there is either progression of disease, death, intolerable toxicity or the study ends.
The study is jointly funded by Hutchmed and Shanghai Junshi Biosciences Co Ltd.
"There is a large unmet clinical need for patients with advanced neuroendocrine carcinoma, many of whom have a bleak prognosis," said Shen Lin, vice president of Peking University Hospital & Cancer Institute.
"Following the encouraging preliminary data from the Phase II trial, we are excited to move into the next stage of development in combining the novel, oral angio-immuno kinase inhibitor surufatinib with the anti-PD-1 antibody toripalimab," Lin added.
Hutchmed holds all rights to surufatinib worldwide, while toripalimab has been used in more than thirty company-sponsored clinical studies since its National Medical Products Administration of China approval in 2018.
Shares in Hutchmed were up 0.1% at 564.30 pence in London on Tuesday morning.
By Josie O'Brien; josieobrien@alliancenews.com
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