UK-based pharmaceutical company AstraZeneca and Chinese healthcare group Chi-Med have amended the 2011 worldwide licensing, co-development, and commercialisation agreement for savolitinib to treat a number of cancers.
Savolitinib is a highly selective c-Met inhibitor, also known as mesenchymal epithelial transition factor, receptor tyrosine kinase, which is an enzyme that can function abnormally in a wide range of solid tumours.
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With the new amendment, savolitinib’s worldwide development plan covers several c-Met-driven solid tumour indications, such as non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC), along with gastric, kidney and colorectal cancers.
AstraZeneca innovative medicines and early development oncology head and senior vice-president Susan Galbraith said: “The accelerated development of savolitinib in renal cell carcinoma (RCC) and NSCLC reflects our ongoing commitment to deliver world-class medicines to patients with limited treatment options.”
Under the amended agreement, Chi-Med will invest up to $50m over three years for the joint development costs of the global Phase III study in c-Met-driven papillary renal cell carcinoma (PRCC).
Chi-Med CEO Christian Hogg said: “Bringing savolitinib to a global launch in multiple areas of unmet medical need is our very clear focus.
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By GlobalData“We believe that savolitinib has the potential to become the first approved therapy in kidney cancer in a molecularly selected patient population, as well as in multiple c-Met-driven lung and gastrointestinal tract cancers.
“As we enter a period where pivotal trials in multiple indications are close at hand, we are now happy to take on a small minority of the investment in order to help accelerate development while increasing our share in the long-term economic value of savolitinib.”
AstraZeneca is continuing to lead the development of savolitinib in other c-Met-driven types of cancer.
Image: Micrograph of non-small-cell lung carcinoma. Photo: courtesy of Nephron..
