Hanmi Pharmaceuticals, one of the top pharmaceutical companies in S. Korea, said that it had presented the results of its researches on targeted anti-cancer drugs - i.e. HM61713 (an EGFR-mutant selective inhibitor) and HM95573 (a novel, highly potent RAF kinase inhibitor) - at the 2015 ASCO (American Society of Clinical Oncology) Annual Meeting, held on April 18-22 in Philadelphia.
First of all, HM61713 is a mutant-selective inhibitor of the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR), which is a growth factor receptor that induces cell differentiation and proliferation upon activation. HM61713 is viewed as a third-generation lung cancer drug that overcomes the side effects and drug tolerance seen with Iressa and Tarceva, currently used as lung cancer drugs.
At the 2015 ASCO Annual Meeting, Hanmi Pharmaceuticals also announced its estimation of the effective dose (ED) of HM61713 for human patients based on its preclinical (animal) testing. Hanmi Pharmaceuticals had already confirmed the safety and efficacy of HM61713 by carrying out domestic Phase 1 and 2 studies, based on the estimation, in lung cancer patients exhibiting tolerance to other anti-cancer drugs. The results of Phase 1 and 2 studies were made public last year at the 2014 ASCO Annual Meeting.
Hanmi Pharmaceuticals is currently conducting domestic and global Phase 2 studies in lung cancer patients with the T790M mutation. Also the Korean pharma giant is doing domestic Phase 2 in non-small cell lung cancer patients to find out whether HM61713 can be used as first-line therapy.
In addition, Hanmi Pharmaceuticals reported the results of two preclinical studies on HM95573’s action mechanism and its effect on solid tumors. HM95573, a novel, highly potent RAF kinase inhibitor, is being developed as a next-generation cancer drug that could be used for cancer patients suffering from drug side effects and tolerance.
The Raf kinase family consists of C-Raf (or Raf-1), B-Raf, and A-Raf. Among them, B-Raf is known to cause melanoma, a type of skin cell cancer. The S. Korean drugmaker has already confirmed that HM95573 produces greater efficacy and fewer side effects than other existing B-RAF inhibitors, such as Zelboraf and Tafinlar. Furthermore, Hanmi Pharmaceuticals has proved that HM95573 works for patients with CRaf-induced solid tumors.
As of now, Hanmi Pharmaceuticals is working on clinical Phase 1 studies to obtain preliminary data on whether HM95573 works in patients with B-RAF melanoma and patients with various solid tumors (e.g. B-Raf, K-RAS and N-RAS mutations in colorectal cancer, lung cancer, liver cancer).
“Hanmi Pharmaceuticals has been concentrating its R&D capabilities on the development of new targeted cancer therapies which could dramatically address drug tolerance and side effects commonly seen with previous anti-cancer drugs. We will further spur on our clinical studies in order to provide suffering cancer patient with innovative therapies,” said Suh Kwee-hyun, managing director of Hanmi Pharmaceuticals.
By Lee Kyung-ho
