Akeso Biopharma (HKG: 9926), a biopharmaceutical company based in China, has announced that its bispecific antibody (BsAb) ivonescimab (AK112), which targets programmed death-1 (PD-1) and vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), has been approved for use in combination with chemotherapy to treat locally advanced or metastatic non-squamous non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) with EGFR mutations that progress after treatment with EGFR tyrosine kinase inhibitors (EGFR TKIs).
Ivonescimab is designed to block the PD-1 and VEGF pathways simultaneously, with the aim of producing synergistic anti-tumor effects. In December 2022, Akeso entered into a deal worth up to USD 5 billion with Summit Therapeutics Inc. (NASDAQ: SMMT), granting Summit exclusive development and commercialization rights to the drug in the US, Canada, Europe, and Japan.
A Phase II clinical study demonstrated that the objective response rate (ORR), disease control rate (DCR), and median duration of response (mDoR) for advanced non-squamous NSCLC with EGFR mutation and disease progression treated with ivonescimab combined with chemotherapy were 68.4%, 94.7%, and 8.7 months, respectively. The median progression-free survival (PFS) was 8.5 months, the median overall survival (mOS) was 22.5 months, and the 12-month OS rate was approximately 73.7%.- Flcube.com
