International biotechnology company BeiGene, which designs and produces oncology medicines, announced that the China National Medical Products Administration's (NMPA) Center for Drug Evaluation (CDE) has accepted a supplemental biologics license application for its drug tislelizumab for use in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), according to a press release published recently.
“While the incidence of HCC is increasing in China, the treatment landscape has not advanced accordingly; survival benefits with newer treatments are modest and multi-kinase inhibitors have sub-optimal tolerability,” said Lai Wang, Ph.D., global head of R&D at BeiGene. “We believe the evidence from our rigorously conducted global clinical development program for tislelizumab in HCC supports the efficacy and favorable tolerability profile and look forward to working with NMPA on this submission and bringing a new treatment option to patients with HCC in China.”
HCC is the most common type of primary liver cancer worldwide and is associated with a highly poor prognosis. New HCC cases and deaths in China account for half of the global statistics, and the five-year survival rate for Chinese HCC patients is only 14%.
BeiGene was founded in 2010 and currently employs over 9,000 people, with operations spanning five continents and administrative offices being maintained in Cambridge, U.S., Basel, Switzerland and Beijing, China. BeiGene is also credited with the Zanubrutinib and Pamiparib oncology medicines currently either in or recruiting for clinical trials.