LSKB Announces Official Nonproprietary Naming of Apatinib (YN968D1): RIVOCERANIB
SALT LAKE CITY, USA, JANUARY 2, 2018. LSKB announced that it has adopted the nonproprietary/generic name “rivoceranib” (pronounced riv” oh ser’ an ib) for its small molecule angiogenesis inhibitor commonly known as apatinib and YN968D1. “Rivoceranib” has been approved as the nonproprietary name by the World Health Organization’s International Nonproprietary Names (WHO-INN) and the American Medical Association’s United States Adopted Names (AMA-USAN) Council.
LSKB, which owns the global rights to rivoceranib outside of China and is conducting a global Phase 3 clinical study in gastric cancer, will hereafter use the newly adopted nonproprietary name worldwide. Jiangsu Hengrui Medicine Co., LTD who owns the Chinese rights, currently markets the drug under the brand name Aitan®. The common name “apatinib” is expected to remain in use in China.
Rivoceranib was developed by Advenchen Laboratories in Southern California under the designation YN968D1. The compound was exclusively licensed to Jiangsu Hengrui in China (2005) and LSK BioPharma (2008) for rest of the world. LSK BioPharma further licensed the South Korean rights to Bukwang Pharmaceutical Co., LTD.
About Rivoceranib (Apatinib, YN968D1)
Rivoceranib is the first successful small-molecule angiogenesis inhibitor in gastric cancer. Rivoceranib acts by inhibiting angiogenesis, a critical process in cancer growth and proliferation. Specifically, rivoceranib selectively inhibits VEGFR-2 which mediates the primary pathway for tumor-mediated angiogenesis. It was approved in China (advanced gastric cancer, Dec 2014) where it is marketed as Aitan® by the Chinese-territory license-holder Jiangsu Hengrui Medicine Co., Ltd. LSK BioPharma, which holds the global rights (ex-China), has partnered development and marketing in South Korea with Bukwang Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. The Company is currently conducting a global (12 countries including US, Japan, Korea, Italy, Germany, and Russia) Phase 3 clinical trial of rivoceranib in advanced or metastatic gastric cancer patients and a Phase 1 clinical trial of rivoceranib in combination with nivolumab in patients with unresectable or metastatic cancer. LSKB also plans to conduct studies in earlier lines of therapy for GC and CRC while supporting an IIT in combination rivoceranib plus pembrolizumab. Rivoceranib has been clinically tested in over 1,000 patients worldwide and has demonstrated efficacy in numerous cancers including gastric cancer, CRC, HCC, NSCLC, esophageal cancer, thyroid cancer, mesothelioma, and neuroendocrine tumors. It has also shown potential to significantly improve outcomes in combination with chemotherapeutics and immunotherapy, as well as for maintenance therapy. LSKB has received notification designating rivoceranib as an orphan medicinal product for the treatment of gastric cancer from the European Commission in the European Union, the US FDA, as well as the MFDS in South Korea. Rivoceranib is also commonly known as apatinib, YN968D1, and Aitan®.
About LSKB
LSK BioPharma (LSKB) is a privately-held biopharmaceutical company based in Salt Lake City, Utah. The Company specializes in clinical development of promising targeted therapies for unmet medical needs in cancer. LSKB is developing two proprietary drug candidates; rivoceranib, a selective VEGFR-2 inhibitor which has demonstrated clinical efficacy in a variety of solid tumors and a selective BTK/JAK3 inhibitor (designated LSK9985) with the potential to treat hematologic malignancies and rheumatoid arthritis as an immunosuppressive agent. LSKB can be found on the web at www.lskbiopharma.com.
Contact:
Angie Price
angieprice@lskbiopharma.com
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