China’s promising pancreatic cancer treatment to start clinical trials after showing ‘superior efficacy’

Innovative drug performs well against current frontline treatments, wins approval to proceed towards human testing

Development of the liposomal anticancer drug is listed as a key research project and is also supported by some Chinese biotech companies

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An anti-cancer drug developed by Chinese researchers performed better than existing treatments in preclinical testing and is moving towards human trials. Photo: Shutterstock

Published: 2:00pm, 22 Mar 2024Updated: 5:35pm, 22 Mar 2024

An innovative cancer drug that holds out hope of a treatment for one of the deadliest forms of the disease is proceeding to clinical trials in China, following approval from the country’s regulatory authority.

Pancreatic cancer, often called the “king of cancers”, is rarely diagnosed in its early stages, when chances of a cure are at their greatest. The disease, which claimed the life of Apple co-founder Steve Jobs in 2011, has an average five-year survival rate of less than 10 per cent.

The Shanghai Institute of Materia Medica – part of the prestigious Chinese Academy of Sciences – said at the end of February that its research team, led by Li Yaping, has received a clinical trial approval notice from the National Medical Products Administration.

According to the institute, the treatment is currently being prepared for phase I clinical research, the first step towards testing in humans.

Development of the liposomal treatment, named HLN601, is listed as a key project under the National Natural Science Foundation of China, which funds most basic research, and supported by some Chinese biotech companies.

In its announcement of the approval on social media platform WeChat, the institute said the drug “is expected to provide a safe and effective new treatment option for pancreatic cancer patients”.

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China’s promising pancreatic cancer treatment to start clinical trials after showing ‘superior efficacy’

Innovative drug performs well against current frontline treatments, wins approval to proceed towards human testing Development of the liposomal anticancer drug is listed as a key research project and is also supported by some Chinese biotech companies

Innovative drug performs well against current frontline treatments, wins approval to proceed towards human testing

Development of the liposomal anticancer drug is listed as a key research project and is also supported by some Chinese biotech companies