AstraZeneca Issues Prospectus: Calling for Partnerships to Advance the Era of Cancer as a Chronic Disease

Cancer represents one of the heaviest disease treatment burdens in China and globally. According to the latest statistics from the World Health Organization’s International Agency for Research on Cancer, China ranked first worldwide in both new cancer cases and cancer-related deaths in 2020, reaching 4.57 million and 3 million, respectively.^[1]。

Transforming cancer into a controllable chronic disease has become a shared aspiration of the pharmaceutical industry. The Outline of the “Healthy China 2030” Plan further explicitly sets forth the strategic goal of increasing the overall five-year survival rate for cancer by 15% by 2030.^[2]. Numerous pharmaceutical companies worldwide are making relentless efforts to achieve this ambitious goal.

In the field of oncology, AstraZeneca has been deeply engaged for decades, with multiple drugs it developed becoming classic regimens in clinical cancer treatment and continuously addressing numerous unmet clinical needs.

The clinical expansion of third-generation EGFR-TKI osimertinib, the next-generation HER2 ADC trastuzumab deruxtecan (co-developed by Daiichi Sankyo), the “dual immunotherapy” combination led by PD-L1 inhibitor durvalumab plus CTLA-4 inhibitor tremelimumab, and the novel BTK inhibitor acalabrutinib has enhanced drug efficacy, improved safety profiles, and achieved better long-term survival outcomes from multiple angles. These advances further meet patients’ clinical needs and collectively drive progress toward the vision of “making cancer a chronic, controllable disease.”

Cancer is a complex disease, and monotherapy with a single drug or regimen often fails to achieve optimal therapeutic outcomes. Combinations of different therapeutic agents or strategies have delivered exciting clinical benefits, both in clinical trials and in real-world practice. With the emergence of various innovative technologies and therapeutic agents, combination therapy is increasingly regarded as one of the future trends in clinical oncology.

To further enhance the precision of clinical treatment for various cancers in China and provide more therapeutic options for patients, AstraZeneca is advancing multiple clinical studies of osimertinib, trastuzumab deruxtecan, durvalumab ± tremelimumab, and acalabrutinib to explore whether combination therapies can improve efficacy and benefit a broader patient population.

As the new drug pipelines of Chinese domestic companies continue to expand, AstraZeneca also looks forward to collaborating with local enterprises by supporting clinical studies on combination therapies involving “Osimertinib,” “Trastuzumab Deruxtecan (jointly developed with Daiichi Sankyo),” “Durvalumab ± Tremelimumab,” and “Acalabrutinib,” thereby jointly contributing to the realization of the “Healthy China 2030” goals.

Since the launch of "Special Project on Research Collaboration for Targeted Therapy in Lung CancerSince then, AstraZeneca has achieved significant results: more than 10 domestic pharmaceutical companies have submitted applications, and innovative collaborations have currently been established with three local pharmaceutical enterprises—CSPC Pharmaceutical Group, Chentai Pharmaceutical, and Qinhao Biopharma. These collaborations include one registration study on combination therapy and two exploratory studies on combinations with novel-mechanism agents, aiming to explore solutions for osimertinib resistance and further enhance the efficacy of first-line osimertinib treatment, thereby benefiting more lung cancer patients.

In the field of hepatobiliary tumors, AstraZeneca has entered into a collaboration agreement with Zhikang Hongyi to conduct a Phase I/II study exploring the use of durvalumab in combination with BC3402 as first-line treatment for patients with unresectable hepatocellular carcinoma, aiming to provide new solutions for liver cancer patients.

In the field of hematologic malignancies, AstraZeneca and Ascentage Pharma have entered into a collaboration agreement to jointly conduct a registrational Phase III clinical study of acalabrutinib in combination with APG-2575 for the treatment of previously untreated chronic lymphocytic leukemia/small lymphocytic lymphoma (CLL/SLL).

To further transform various cancers into chronic, manageable conditions, AstraZeneca plans to continue providing its targeted lung cancer therapies to partners.Osimertinib, HER2-targeted ADCTrastuzumab Deruxtecan, immune checkpoint inhibitors (includingTremelimumab and Durvalumab), Targeted Therapies for Hematologic MalignanciesAcalabrutinibto support the conduct of its clinical studies.

1. The company possesses innovative molecules (small molecules or large molecules), innovative targets, or innovative technologies;

2. The product’s mechanism of action is well-defined

3. Clear ownership/patent rights.

1. Interested Chinese pharmaceutical companies submit collaboration requests and provide research plans along with necessary supporting data;

2. Upon AstraZeneca team's assessment of feasibility, both parties shall sign a cooperation agreement;

3. The clinical studies were conducted by Chinese pharmaceutical companies.

Lung Cancer:

ChinaLCPartnership@AstraZeneca.com

Trastuzumab Deruxtecan in Pan-Tumor Indications:

ChinaEnhertuPartnership@astrazeneca.com

Hepatobiliary Tumors:

ChinaHBCPartnership@AstraZeneca.com

Hematologic Malignancies:

ChinaHEMAPartnership@astrazeneca.com

References:

[1]https://www.iarc.fr/faq/latest-global-cancer-data-2020-qa/

[2] The Central Committee of the Communist Party of China and the State Council issued the “Outline of the ‘Healthy China 2030’ Plan.” https://www.gov.cn/zhengce/2016-10/25/content_5124174.htm, 2016-10-25.

(Note: Osimertinib is not approved for use in combination with any other drug or for the treatment of rare EGFR mutations; Trastuzumab deruxtecan is not approved for use in combination with any other drug or for pan-cancer indications, and proposed regimens require joint evaluation by the AstraZeneca and Daiichi Sankyo teams; except for its use in combination with chemotherapy as first-line treatment for unresectable biliary tract cancer, Durvalumab is not approved in China for use in combination with any other drug or as monotherapy for hepatobiliary tumors; Tremelimumab has not been approved for marketing in China; Acalabrutinib is not approved for use in combination with any other drug or for lymphoma indications other than mantle cell lymphoma (MCL) and chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL). AstraZeneca does not recommend the use of any unapproved medications. This article is published by the AstraZeneca Medical Department and is intended solely for reference by healthcare professionals and pharmaceutical industry experts, not for promotional purposes.)

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