Recent Breakthroughs in Oncology: Qilu Pharmaceutical and InnoCare Pharma Announce New Anti-Cancer Drug Approvals

　　【Pharmaceutical Network Industry DynamicsIn recent years, the sales of China's anti-tumor drug market have been showing a steady growth trend. According to data, the scale of China's pharmaceutical market reached RMB 235.8 billion in 2022, with an annual compound growth rate of 13.5%. With the continuous increase in aging population and public awareness of cancer prevention, the market size of anti-tumor drugs continues to rise. The industry expects that by 2029, the market size of China's anti-tumor drug industry is expected to reach RMB 559 billion.
 

Faced with a huge market scale, many pharmaceutical companies in China are strengthening technology research and development to enrich the cancer treatment model. Recently, there has been good news from several pharmaceutical companies regarding new drug clinical trials and market launches.
 

Recently, Qilu Pharmaceutical's Pertuzumab N01 Injection (brand name: Ankeze) has been approved for marketing. It is used in combination with FOLFOX for the first-line treatment of patients with RAS wild-type (both KRAS and NRAS are wild-type) metastatic colorectal cancer (mCRC).
 

It is reported that the original panitumumab (trade name Vectibix), a monoclonal antibody targeting the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) jointly developed by Takeda and Amgen, has not yet been approved for marketing in China. In 2012, Qilu Pharmaceutical initiated research on pertuzumab and conducted pharmaceutical comparative studies with Amgen's panitumumab. The results demonstrated that the quality attributes of Qilu Pharmaceutical’s Ankeze are highly similar to those of panitumumab, with overall comparable quality.
 

On December 11, InnoCare announced that the company's self-developed next-generation TRK inhibitor, Yinoxin® (Zolocretinib, ICP-723), received approval from China's National Medical Products Administration (NMPA) for the treatment of adult and adolescent patients aged 12 years and above with solid tumors carrying NTRK fusion genes.
 

Zolertinib has previously been included in the "Pilot Program for Encouraging the Development of Pediatric Anticancer Drugs (Starlight Program)" by the China National Medical Products Administration. InnoCare expects to submit an NDA application for zolertinib to treat pediatric patients (ages 2 to 12) in the near future.
 

On December 4, Chongqing Lummy Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. announced that the innovative anti-cancer drug "Nanocarbon Iron Suspension Injection" (referred to as "Nanocarbon Iron"), independently developed by its subsidiary Sichuan Yingrui Pharmaceutical Technology Co., Ltd., received a clinical trial approval notice from the National Medical Products Administration. The administration has agreed to conduct clinical trials of Nanocarbon Iron in combination with standard radiotherapy in patients with solid tumors.
 

The announcement shows that nanocarbon iron is a new generation of nanomedicine researched and developed on the basis of Lummy Pharmaceutical's product "nanocarbon suspension injection." With Fe2+ as the active anti-cancer component and nanocarbon as the carrier of Fe2+, it exerts its anti-cancer effects by regulating the ferroptosis pathway. Administered through intratumoral injection, it has the function of inhibiting tumor growth. To date, the phase II clinical trial of nanocarbon iron is proceeding smoothly, with some enrollment trials already completed.
 

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Overall, the continuous breakthroughs in China's anti-tumor drugs by 2025 are a concentrated manifestation of the pharmaceutical industry’s transformation and upgrading in recent years. China's pharmaceutical industry has developed the capability to target the global frontier in research and development, systematic pipeline planning, and the ability to define and deliver value on the international stage. In the future, companies that can continuously produce source innovations with globally differentiated advantages and efficiently convert them into commercial value will embrace more development opportunities amid fierce market competition.
 

　　Disclaimer: In no event shall the information or opinions expressed in this article constitute investment advice to any person.