First Patient Dosed with New Therapy for Advanced Hepatocellular Carcinoma

Kintor Pharmaceutical Limited today announced the first patient dosing in the United States of its multi-regional phase II clinical trial (NCT05178043) of ALK-1 antibody (GT90001) and Nivolumab (Opdivo) combination therapy for the treatment of advanced Hepatocellular Carcinoma (HCC) on 2 May 2022.

According to Global Cancer Statistics 2020, primary liver cancer is the sixth most commonly diagnosed cancer and the third leading cause of cancer death worldwide, with approximately 906,000 new cases and 830,000 deaths[1]. HCC is the most common form of liver cancer in adults, accounting for about 75%-85% of all liver cancers.[2] Overall, the treatment and prognosis of liver cancer are relatively poor, and the overall survival of liver cancer needs to be further improved with better treatment options.

In recent years, innovative therapies have increased options for patients with advanced liver cancers. In 2020, the combination treatment of Atezolizumab (TECENTRIQ®) and  Bevacizumab (AVASTIN®) (“T+A”) was approved in the US to replace Sorafenib (NEXAVAR®) or Lenvatinib (LENVIMA®) as the first-line standard of care (“SOC”) for advanced HCC, following by approval in many other countries and regions. There has been huge unmet needs for a second-line treatment for patients who failed treatment with or did not tolerate T+A.

Dr. Tong Youzhi, founder, Chairman, and CEO of Kintor Pharma, commented, “We are delighted to complete the first patient dosing in the phase II multi-regional clinical trial of GT90001 combined with Nivolumab for the treatment of advanced HCC. We expect this phase II MRCT study would position GT90001 well as a combination candidate with I/O for the second-line treatment of HCC. We are also selecting clinical strategies for GT90001 in other solid tumors and hope to bring more innovative treatment options for patients with unmet needs.”