Sichuan Kelun-Biotech Biopharmaceutical Co., Ltd. (“Kelun-Biotech”, 6990.HK) announced that the new drug application (the “NDA”) for SKB264 (MK-2870, Brand name: 佳泰莱) in adult patients with unrespectable locally advanced, metastatic triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) who have received at least two prior systemic therapies (at least one of them for advanced or metastatic setting) was accepted by the Center for Drug Evaluation (CDE) of the National Medical Products Administration (NMPA). SKB264 (MK-2870) is expected to be the first domestic TROP2-ADC to be approved for marketing in China. This SKB264 New Drug Application is based on a multi-center, randomized, controlled phase 3 clinical study of SKB264 (MK-2870) monotherapy for second line or above locally advanced or metastatic
SKB264 new drug application has been included in the priority review and approval process by the Center for Drug Evaluation (CDE) of the National Medical Products Administration (NMPA). For drugs that included in the priority review, CDE will prioritize the review and verification procedures to effectively shorten the approval timeframe for launching clinical-valuable new drugs to the market. The Company plans to publish the Phase III clinical trial data at the Academic Conference 2024 and promote the early launch of SKB264, to enrich the clinical treatments for patients with second-line and above TNBC.
Breast cancer is the number one malignant tumor that seriously threatens women's health all over the world, and its incidence is increasing year by year. TNBC is a subtype of breast cancer with specific molecular expression characteristics, invasive behavior and metastatic patterns, and has a poorer prognosis than other subtypes of breast cancer, with higher rates of local recurrence and distant metastasis, and the 5-year survival rate is only 13% for advanced TNBC patients (National Cancer Institute 2022). Due to the lack of therapeutic targets such as endocrine and HER2, TNBC is insensitive to both hormonal and targeted therapies, and the current treatment is still based on chemotherapeutic agents. For patients with second-line and above TNBC, the progression-free survival of current clinically available chemotherapy regimens is less than 3 months, and overall survival is about 5-8 months (Kazmi et al. 2020, O'Shaughnessy et al. 2021), and there is a large and urgent unmet clinical need for more effective therapeutic agents
On December 2023, Kelun-Biotech updated efficacy and safety results from a phase II expansion cohort in patients with previously treated metastatic TNBC for SKB264 (MK-2870) have been presented at the 46th San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium (SABCS). (SABCS 2023 news link here)
About SKB264 (MK-2870)
SKB264 is a representative innovative ADC targeting TROP2, developed by Kelun-Biotech 's internationally renowned ADC research and development platform—OptiDC. It consists of a humanized anti-TROP2 monoclonal antibody with high affinity and targeting, combined with the self-developed small toxin molecule T030 (a topoisomerase I inhibitor) through a stability-optimized CL2A linker. The drug-to-antibody ratio (DAR) averages as high as 7.4. The stability of SKB264 has been enhanced in two main ways, allowing more ADC to effectively reach tumor cells. Firstly, the antibody end of the linker uses a sulfonamide pyrimidine connector, which allows for irreversible coupling with the antibody. Secondly, T030 contains a methyl sulfone structure, which can securely bind with the toxin end of the linker. The linker of SKB264 is affected by both extracellular pH-sensitive cleavage and intracellular enzymatic cleavage within tumor cells, which leads to efficient release of the small toxin molecule to exert its anti-tumor effects. T030 activity is similar to that of DXd and also shows a “bystander effect”. In summary, SKB264 exerts its anti-tumor effect in three ways. Firstly, the pH-sensitive linker can cleave and release T030 in the acidic tumor microenvironment. Secondly, after being engulfed by tumor cells, SKB264 releases T030 via enzymatic cleavage. Thirdly, T030 can also penetrate the cell membrane to exert a "bystander effect" to kill surrounding tumor cells. With a high-affinity monoclonal antibody, highly active toxin molecule, good stability, and high DAR value, the overall design of SKB264 contributes to its robust anti-tumor activity which has been preliminarily demonstrated in clinical studies to date.
In May 2022, the Company licensed the exclusive rights to MSD (the tradename of Merck & Co., Inc, Rahway, NJ, USA) to develop, use, manufacture and commercialize SKB264 (MK-2870) in all territories outside of Greater China (includes Mainland China, Hong Kong, Macao, and Taiwan).
SKB264 has received 3 BTDs from the CDE of China’s NMPA for the treatment of locally advanced or metastatic TNBC, locally advanced or metastatic EGFR-mutated non-small cell lung cancer which has failed EGFR-TKI therapy, and locally advanced or metastatic hormone receptor-positive (HR+) and human epidermal growth factor receptor 2-negative (HER2-) breast cancer which has received at least second-line systemic therapy.
About Kelun-Biotech
Kelun-Biotech (6990.HK) is a holding subsidiary of Kelun Pharmaceutical (002422.SZ), which focuses on the R&D, manufacturing, commercialization and global collaboration of innovative biological drugs and small molecule drugs. The company focuses on major disease areas such as solid tumors, autoimmune, inflammatory, and metabolic diseases, and in establishing a globalized drug development and industrialization platform to address the unmet medical needs in China and the rest of world. The Company is committed to becoming a leading global enterprise in the field of innovative drugs.
At present, the Company has 33 ongoing innovative projects in major disease areas such as solid tumors, autoimmune, inflammatory, and metabolic diseases, including 14 projects in the clinical stage with several global trials being conducted simultaneously in multiple countries, including China, Europe, and the United States. The company has established one of the world’s leading proprietary ADC platforms, OptiDC, and has four ADC projects in the clinical stage (two of which are in the Phase III or NDA stage) and several projects in the preclinical stage. For more information, please visit https://kelun-biotech.com/.
References:
1. National Cancer Institute (2022) Cancer Stat Facts: Female Breast Cancer Subtypes.
2.[Kazmi S, Chatterjee D, Raju D, et al. (2020)] Overall survival analysis in patients with metastatic breast cancer and liver or lung metastases treated with eribulin, gemcitabine, or capecitabine. Breast Cancer Research and Treatment; 184(2):559-565.
3.[O'Shaughnessy J, Punie K, Oliveira M, et al. (2021)] Assessment of sacituzumab govitecan (SG) versus treatment of physician’s choice (TPC) cohort by agent in the phase 3 ASCENT study of patients (pts) with metastatic triple-negative breast cancer (mTNBC). (2021): 1077-1077. https://meetinglibrary.asco.org/record/198258/abstract
Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains certain forward-looking statements. These statements are based on the beliefs of our management as well as assumptions made by and information currently available to our management. When used in this press release, the words “aim,” “anticipate,” “believe,” “could,” “estimate,” “expect,” “going forward,” “intend,” “may,” “might,” “ought to,” “plan,” “potential,” “predict,” “project,” “seek,” “should,” “will,” “would” and the negative forms of these words and other similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements. Such statements reflect the current views of our management with respect to future events, operations, liquidity and capital resources, some of which may not materialize or may change.
It is advised not to place any undue reliance on any forward-looking statements contained herein. The Company can give no assurance that these forward-looking statements will prove to have been correct. Expectations reflected in these forward-looking statements are subject to change and the Company undertakes no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements herein.