alphamab oncology and raygene pharmaceutical announced partnership to develop combination therapy of bispecific antibody kn046 and small molecule drug rg001-凯发88

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alphamab oncology and raygene pharmaceutical announced partnership to develop combination therapy of bispecific antibody kn046 and small molecule drug rg001

september 28, 2021 08:28 eastern daylight time

suzhou, september 28,2021 - alphamab oncology (stock code: 9966.hk) announced, the company has entered a partnership agreement with hangzhou raygene pharmaceutical co., ltd (raygene pharmaceutical) to jointly develop the combination therapy of the pd-l1/ctla-4 bispecific antibody kn046 and the small molecule drug rg001 for the posterior line treatment of advanced hcc and liver metastasis crc.

 

liver cancer and colorectal cancer are the common types of gastrointestinal cancers. according to the latest global cancer burden data released by the world health organization in 2020, liver cancer is the sixth most common cancer worldwide, and the third leading cause of cancer-related death globally. over 50% of new cases and deaths occurred in china. colorectal cancer is the third most common cancer worldwide and the second most common tumor in china. 83% of colorectal cancer patients in china were at a middle or advanced stage when diagnosed, and 44% of them had liver/lung metastasis.

 

kn046 is a bispecific antibody independently developed by alphamab oncology, which simultaneously targets pd-l1 and ctla-4 immune checkpoints and could effectively activate t cells and enhance immune anti-tumor ability. the phase ii clinical data of kn046 combined with lenvatinib in the first-line treatment of hcc were published at the esmo 2021. kn046 in combination with lenvatinib in first line hcc achieved 57% and 76% orr and 95% and 95% dcr by recisct 1.1 and imrecist, respectively. based on the results from this study, a global phase iii clinical study of kn046 in combination with lenvatinib for the first line treatment of hepatocellular carcinoma is justified and currently in the planning phase.

 

rg001 (tate) is a proprietary anti-tumor small molecule drug licensed in from abroad by ruizhen pharmaceutical. it could be acted as prodrug and transformed to cytotoxic metabolites in hypoxic tumor cell, and resulted in tumor cells killed. according to pre-study, it could achieve a synergistical effects to enhance anti-cancer capacity when combined with other immune checkpoint inhibitors.

 

according to the agreement, alphamab oncology and raygene pharmaceutical will conduct clinical trials evaluating safety and efficacy of kn046 plus rg001 or in sequential combination for the posterior line treatment of advanced hcc, crc liver metastasis and other indications jointly decided by both parties, and to bring new options to patients who have progressed after receiving chemotherapy, small molecule targeted therapy or pd-1 therapy.

 

about kn046

kn046 is pd-l1/ctla-4 bispecific antibody independently developed by jiangsu alphamab. its innovative designs include: a different mechanism ctla-4 fused with pd-l1 single domain antibody; engineered to target the tumor microenvironment with high pd-l1 expression, and treg(suppress tumor immunity) clearing function.

 

there are about 20 clinical trials of kn046 in different stages covering more than 10 types of tumors including nsclc, thymic cancer, pancreatic cancer, hcc, escc and tnbc in australia and china. the results of these clinical trials have shown an advantage in survival for patients. alphamab has received fda clearance to enter phase ⅱ trial of kn046 based on the clinical results in china and australia. moreover, kn046 has obtained the u.s. fda's orphan drug designation for thymic epithelial tumor in september 2020. four pivotal clinical trials are currently being conducted.

 

about alphamab oncology

alphamab oncology is focusing on innovation, production and commercialization of anti-tumor drugs. on december 12, 2019, the company was listed in the mainboard of hong kong stock exchange with stock code 9966.

 

alphamab has fully integrated proprietary biologics platforms in bi-specifics and protein engineering. its highly differentiated in-house pipeline includes fifteen tumor monoclonal antibodies and bispecific antibodies and a covid-19 multifunctional antibody. four products have advanced into phase i-iii clinical trials or pre-marketing stage in china, the united states, japan and australia. the bla for envafolimab (kn035) has been accepted and granted priority review by the national medical products administration (nmpa).

 

the company also has state-of-the-art manufacturing capabilities designed and built to meet nmpa and eu/fda’s cgmp standards and a complete quality system which has passed the on-site inspection of a european union qualified person. alphamab oncology is committed to building a global leading, multi-dimensional drug development and commercialization platform, focusing on multifunctional biological innovative drugs, and to benefit patients in china and around the world.

 

alphamab oncology forward-looking statements

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