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.
“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..
