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CHENGDU, China, Sept. 23, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Sichuan Kelun-Biotech Biopharmaceutical Co., Ltd. (the "Company") announced that a new drug application (NDA) for the Company's small molecule rearranged during transfection (RET) kinase inhibitor A400 (also known as EP0031) was accepted for review by the Center for Drug Evaluation (CDE) of the National Medical Products Administration (NMPA) of China for the treatment of adult patients with RET-fusion positive locally advanced, or metastatic non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). This acceptance for review is based on the positive results from the two pivotal Phase 2 cohorts of the KL400-I/II-01 study for both 1L and 2L+ advanced RET-fusion positive NSCLC.

Cohort 1 and 2, the Phase 2 stage of the KL400-I/II-01 study, evaluate the efficacy and safety of A400/EP0031 90mg orally once daily (QD) for the treatment of patients with pre-treated and treatment-naïve RET-fusion positive locally advanced, or metastatic NSCLC, respectively. Primary efficacy endpoints of the two pivotal cohorts were reached, where A400/EP0031 demonstrated favorable efficacy in pretreated and treatment-naïve NSCLC including patients with prior immunotherapy or brain metastases. A400/EP0031 also demonstrated an encouraging, manageable tolerability and safety profile.

Dr. Michael Ge, CEO of Kelun-Biotech said, "We are pleased to report positive results from the clinical study of A400/EP0031 in treating RET-fusion positive NSCLC, which gives us confidence in its future clinical potential. As a tumor agnostic precision therapy, A400/EP0031 represents our significant strategic positioning in the solid tumor field. We look forward to working closely with regulatory authorities to expedite the review process for A400/EP0031, bringing this innovative therapy to patients with RET-fusion positive NSCLC as soon as possible."

About RET-fusion positive NSCLC

RET gene fusions represent one of the rare yet significant driver mutation types in NSCLC. In Chinese NSCLC patients, the incidence of RET gene fusions ranges from 1.4% to 2.5%[1]. Patients with RET fusions derive limited benefit from conventional treatments. In recent years, the emergence of novel highly selective inhibitors has led to breakthroughs in the clinical management of advanced RET-fusion positive NSCLC patients. However, their therapeutic benefits are limited, in part, by acquired RET drug-resistant mutations and safety issues such as hypertension and hematological toxicity, underscoring the need for novel selective RET inhibitors with improved safety and better efficacy against drug-resistant mutations.

About A400/EP0031

A400/EP0031 is a novel next-generation selective RET inhibitor for NSCLC, medullary thyroid cancer (MTC) and other solid tumors with a high prevalence of RET alterations. The Company is currently conducting a phase 1b/2 clinical study for RET+ MTC and solid tumor in China. The results from the Phase 1 study of A400/EP0031 in patients with advanced RET-mutant MTC were presented at the 2025 ASCO Annual Meeting.

In March 2021, the Company granted Ellipses Pharma Limited, a U.K.-based international oncology drug development company, an exclusive license to develop, manufacture and commercialize this agent outside Greater China and certain Asian countries under the code EP0031.

In March 2024, it was announced that EP0031/A400 was granted Fast Track designation by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for the treatment of RET-fusion positive NSCLC. In April 2024, EP0031/A400 was cleared by the FDA to progress into Phase 2 clinical development and is now open in the United States, United Kingdom, Europe and United Arab Emirates.

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 more than 30 ongoing key innovative drug projects, of which 3 projects have been approved for marketing, 2 projects are in the NDA stage and more than 10 projects are in the clinical stage. The company has established one of the world's leading proprietary ADC and novel DC platforms, OptiDC™, and has 1 ADC project approved for marketing, 1 ADC project in NDA stage and multiple ADC and novel DC assets in clinical or preclinical research stage. For more information, please visit https://kelun-biotech.com/

Sichuan Kelun-Biotech Biopharmaceutical Co., Ltd. ("Kelun-Biotech", HKEX: 6990) announced that clinical data from a Phase II study evaluating novel TROP2 antibody-drug conjugate (ADC) sacituzumab tirumotecan (sac-TMT) in combination with PD-L1 monoclonal antibody (mAb) tagitanlimab for the first-line treatment of advanced or metastatic non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) have been published in Nature Medicine (Impact Factor: 58.7).

The publication highlighted initial findings from the Phase II OptiTROP-Lung01 study, evaluating the efficacy and safety results of sac-TMT in combination with tagitanlimab as a first-line treatment of advanced or metastatic NSCLC patients without actionable genomic alterations. The study was led by Prof. Zhang Li's team at the Center for Cancer Prevention and Control, Sun Yat-sen University, China. Patients in Cohort 1A received sac-TMT (5 mg/kg, Q3W) plus tagitanlimab (1200 mg, Q3W) in a three-week cycle, while patients in Cohort 1B were treated with sac-TMT (5 mg/kg, Q2W) plus tagitanlimab (900 mg, Q2W) in a four-week cycle. Patients received sac-TMT in combination with tagitanlimab in a non-randomized manner until disease progression or unacceptable toxicity. Median follow-ups for Cohort 1A and Cohort 1B were 19.3 months and 13.0 months, respectively (Data cutoff date: May 27, 2024).

The study results demonstrated promising anti-tumor activity, and manageable safety of sac-TMT in combination with tagitanlimab as a first-line treatment for advanced or metastatic NSCLC patients. A total of 40 patients in Cohort 1A and 63 patients in Cohort 1B were included in the full analysis set (FAS) for efficacy assessment. In Cohort 1A and Cohort 1B, respectively, the confirmed objective response rates (ORRs) were 40.0% (95% CI: 24.9–56.7) and 66.7% (95% CI: 53.7–78.0), and the ORRs were:

• 44.4% and 64.7% among patients with non-squamous carcinoma, 36.4% and 69.0% with squamous carcinoma;

• 41.7% and 57.1% among patients with PD-L1 tumor proportion score (TPS)<1%;

• 38.5% and 63.2% for TPS 1–49%;

• 40.0% and 78.3% for TPS ≥50%.

The median progression-free survival (mPFS) for Cohort 1A was 15.4 months (95% CI: 6.7–17.9) and not reached (95% CI: 9.6–NE) for Cohort 1B.

The most common grade ≥3 treatment-related adverse events (TRAEs) for both Cohorts 1A and 1B were decreased neutrophil count, decreased white blood cell count and anemia. No treatment-related deaths were observed.

Subgroup analyses showed consistent efficacy across PD-L1 and TROP2 expression levels, as well as in both squamous and non-squamous histological subtypes.

Dr. Michael Ge, CEO of Kelun-Biotech, commented: "The OptiTROP-Lung01 study supports the promising efficacy and safety of sacituzumab tirumotecan in combination with tagitanlimab as a first-line treatment for patients with advanced NSCLC. The results were observed across PD-L1/TROP2 expression levels and histological subtypes and support the advancement potential of sac-TMT from later-line to front-line therapy. The publication of results from several studies in top-tier international journals reflects the recognition of our innovation-driven development strategy. We will continue to work to address critical clinical challenges and unmet medical needs, striving to deliver more therapeutic options and improve quality of life for patients."

About sac-TMT

Sac-TMT, a core product of the Company, is a novel human TROP2 ADC in which the Company has proprietary intellectual property rights, targeting advanced solid tumors such as NSCLC, breast cancer (BC), gastric cancer (GC), gynecological tumors among others. Sac-TMT is developed with a novel linker to conjugate the payload, a belotecan-derivative topoisomerase I inhibitor with a drug-to-antibody-ratio (DAR) of 7.4. Sac-TMT specifically recognizes TROP2 on the surface of tumor cells by recombinant anti-TROP2 humanized monoclonal antibodies, which is then endocytosed by tumor cells and releases KL610023 intracellularly. KL610023, as a topoisomerase I inhibitor, induces DNA damage to tumor cells, which in turn leads to cell-cycle arrest and apoptosis. In addition, it also releases KL610023 in the tumor microenvironment. Given that KL610023 is membrane permeable, it can enable a bystander effect, or in other words kill adjacent tumor cells.

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 sac-TMT in all territories outside of Greater China (includes Mainland China, Hong Kong, Macao, and Taiwan).

To date, two indications for sac-TMT have been approved and marketed in China for the treatment of adult patients with unresectable locally advanced or metastatic TNBC who have received at least two prior systemic therapies (at least one of them for advanced or metastatic setting) and EGFR mutation-positive locally advanced or metastatic non-squamous NSCLC following progression on EGFR-TKI therapy and platinum-based chemotherapy. In addition, two new indication applications for sac-TMT for the treatment of adult patients with EGFR-mutant locally advanced or metastatic NSCLC who progressed after treatment with EGFR-TKI therapy and with unresectable locally advanced, metastatic HR+/HER2- BC who have received prior endocrine therapy and other systemic treatments in the advanced or metastatic setting were accepted by the CDE, and were included in the priority review and approval process. As of today, the Company has initiated 9 registrational clinical studies in China. MSD has initiated 14 ongoing Phase III global clinical studies of sac-TMT as a monotherapy or with pembrolizumab[1] or other agents for several types of cancer. These studies are sponsored and led by MSD.

About Tagitanlimab

Tagitanlimab is the first PD-L1 mAb globally to receive authorization for the first-line treatment of NPC. Previously, the NMPA has approved the marketing in China of tagitanlimab used in combination with cisplatin and gemcitabine for the first-line treatment of patients with R/M NPC and monotherapy for the treatment of patients with recurrent or metastatic NPC who have failed after prior 2L+ chemotherapy, respectively.

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 more than 30 ongoing key innovative drug projects, of which 3 projects have been approved for marketing, 1 project is in the NDA stage and more than 10 projects are in the clinical stage. The company has established one of the world's leading proprietary ADC platforms, OptiDC™, and has 1 ADC project approved for marketing, 1 ADC project in NDA stage and multiple ADC and novel DC assets in clinical or preclinical research stage. For more information, please visit https://kelun-biotech.com/.

CHENGDU, China, May , 22, 2025—Sichuan Kelun-Biotech Biopharmaceutical Co., Ltd. (the “Company”) announced that a new indication application (the “Application”) for the Company’s trophoblast cell-surface antigen 2 (TROP2)-directed antibody-drug conjugate (ADC) sacituzumab tirumotecan (sac-TMT, also known as SKB264/MK-2870)(佳泰莱®) was accepted by the Center for Drug Evaluation (CDE) of the National Medical Products Administration (NMPA) of China for the treatment of adult patients with unresectable locally advanced, metastatic hormone-receptor positive (HR+) and human epidermal growth factor receptor 2-negative (HER2-) breast cancer (BC) who have received prior endocrine therapy and other systemic treatments in the advanced or metastatic setting. This acceptance is based on the positive results from the registrational phase 3 OptiTROP-Breast02 study, and the Application is the fourth indication application for sac-TMT that has been accepted by the NMPA.

OptiTROP-Breast02 is a randomized, open-label, multi-center, Phase 3 clinical study that evaluates the efficacy and safety results of sac-TMT monotherapy 5mg/kg every other week (Q2W) versus chemotherapy treatment of physician’s choice for the treatment of patients with unresectable locally advanced or metastatic HR+/HER2- (Immunohistochemistry [IHC] 0, IHC 1+ or IHC 2+/ In Situ Hybridization [ISH]-) BC. Primary efficacy endpoint of this Phase 3 clinical study was reached according to a pre-specified interim analysis, where sac-TMT monotherapy demonstrated a statistically significant and clinically meaningful improvement in the primary endpoint of progression-free survival (PFS) as assessed by the blinded independent review committee (BIRC) compared with chemotherapy treatment of physician’s choice and the risk of disease progression or death was significantly reduced. Sac-TMT also demonstrated the beneficial trend for overall survival (OS).

On May 16, 2024, the CDE’s official website announced that the Application would be reviewed via the priority review and approval process. This marks the fourth sac-TMT indication to go through the CDE’s priority review and approval process, with three previous sat-TMT indications approved following priority review.

Dr. Michael Ge, CEO of Kelun-Biotech said, “We are very pleased that the NDA application for the fourth indication of our core product, sac-TMT, has been accepted by the CDE of NMPA, which is another breakthrough for the breast cancer treatment field. This not only verifies the clinical value and innovative nature of sac-TMT, but also highlights the ‘patient-centered’ mission of Kelun-Biotech. We look forward to the OS results of sac-TMT with longer follow-up. In the future, we will continue to explore sac-TMT as an oncology therapeutic agent, aiming to address new indications with unmet clinical needs, so as to benefit more oncology patients globally.”

About HR+/HER2-BC

Breast cancer is one of the most common malignant tumors that seriously threaten women's health worldwide. In 2022, there were about 2,297,000 new cases of breast cancer and 666,000 deaths worldwide [1]. Among them, HR+/HER2- breast cancer is the most common subtype, accounting for about 70% of all breast cancer cases, and advanced HR+/HER2- breast cancer has a poor prognosis [2]. Patients with this subtype of breast cancer are often hormone-sensitive, so the preferred treatment option is endocrine therapy combined with CDK4/6 inhibitors. Rescue chemotherapy is preferred for patients with advanced HR+/HER2- breast cancer with visceral metastases who require rapid disease remission, who are previously resistant to endocrine therapy, or who do not have optimal endocrine therapy options. There is currently no standard treatment option for second- and third-line HR+/HER2-advanced breast cancer patients who have failed first-line chemotherapy. In summary, there is an unmet clinical need for patients with unresectable locally advanced or metastatic HR+/HER2- breast cancer who have received prior endocrine therapy and have received other systemic therapies in the advanced or metastatic stages.

About sac-TMT (佳泰莱®)

Sac-TMT, a core product of the Company, is a novel human TROP2 ADC in which the Company has proprietary intellectual property rights, targeting advanced solid tumors such as non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), BC, gastric cancer (GC), gynecological tumors, among others. Sac-TMT is developed with a novel linker to conjugate the payload, a belotecan-derivative topoisomerase I inhibitor with a drug-to-antibody-ratio (DAR) of 7.4. Sac-TMT specifically recognizes TROP2 on the surface of tumor cells by recombinant anti-TROP2 humanized monoclonal antibodies, which is then endocytosed by tumor cells and releases KL610023 intracellularly. KL610023, as a topoisomerase I inhibitor, induces DNA damage to tumor cells, which in turn leads to cell-cycle arrest and apoptosis. In addition, it also releases KL610023 in the tumor microenvironment. Given that KL610023 is membrane permeable, it can enable a bystander effect, or in other words kill adjacent tumor cells.

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 sac-TMT in all territories outside of Greater China (includes Mainland China, Hong Kong, Macao, and Taiwan).

To date, two indications for sac-TMT have been approved and marketed in China for the treatment of adult patients with unresectable locally advanced or 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) and epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) mutation-positive locally advanced or metastatic non-squamous NSCLC following progression on EGFR-tyrosine kinase inhibitor (TKI) therapy and platinum-based chemotherapy. Sac-TMT became the first domestically developed and fully approved for marketing ADC in China with global intellectual property rights . It is also the world's first TROP2 ADC to be approved for marketing in a lung cancer indication. In addition, the new indication application for sac-TMT for the treatment of adult patients with EGFR-mutant locally advanced or metastatic NSCLC who progressed after treatment with EGFR-TKI therapy was accepted by the NMPA, and was included in the priority review and approval process. As of today, the Company has initiated 8 registrational clinical studies in China. MSD has initiated 14 ongoing Phase 3 global clinical studies of sac-TMT as a monotherapy or with pembrolizumab or other agents for several types of cancer. These studies are sponsored and led by MSD.

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 more than 30 ongoing key innovative drug projects, of which 3 projects have been approved for marketing, 1 project is in the NDA stage, and more than 10 projects are in the clinical stage. The company has established one of the world's leading proprietary ADC platforms, OptiDC™, and has 1 ADC project approved for marketing, 1 ADC project in NDA stage, and multiple ADC or novel ADC projects in clinical or preclinical research stage. For more information, please visit https://kelun-biotech.com/.

Media: klbio_pr@kelun.com

Reference

[1] Globalcan 2022: China.

[2] [Wang Y et al (2024)] Current status of treatment for hormone receptor-positive/human epidermal growth factor receptor 2-negative advanced breast cancer. Journal of Clinical Surgery; 32(7):780-782.

At the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) Genitourinary (GU) Cancers Symposium 2025, to be held in San Francisco, USA, from Feb. 13-15, 2025, Sichuan Kelun-Biotech Biopharmaceutical Co., Ltd （“Kelun-Biotech”） will present efficacy and safety results from the Phase 1/2 KL264-01/MK-2870-001 study (NCT04152499) of its anti-TROP2 ADC sacituzumab tirumotecan (sac-TMT, formerly SKB-264/MK-2870) as monotherapy in patients with unresectable, locally advanced or metastatic urothelial carcinoma (UC) who progressed on or after prior anti-cancer therapies. These findings will be presented in a poster session on February 14, 2025, local time (Abstract #796).

The abstract for the above study was also published on the official website of the ASCO GU Cancers Symposium 2025 on February 10, 2025, local time.

UC

Eligible participants had histologically/cytologically confirmed locally advanced or metastatic UC, had experienced progression of disease on ≥1 prior line of platinum-based therapy and had received prior anti-PD-(L)1 therapy; platinum-ineligible patients were eligible if they received prior anti-PD-(L)1 therapy (prior neoadjuvant/adjuvant therapy counted as a line of therapy if patients progressed within 12 months). Patients had Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group (ECOG) performance status (PS) ≤1 and measurable disease by CT/MRI. Patients received sac-TMT 5 mg/kg every two weeks (Q2W) until progression of disease, unacceptable toxicity or withdrawal of consent.

As of data cutoff on June 30, 2024, 49 treated patients had a minimum follow-up of ≥9 weeks. Eleven patients received sac-TMT as 2L treatment; 38 received sac-TMT as 3L+ treatment. Median age was 62 and 61 years old, respectively; most patients were Asian (82%; 100%). Median (range) follow-up was 9.5 (7.5-16.2) months and 11.7 (7.8-17.4) months, respectively. Among all patients, objective response rate (ORR) was 31%. Efficacy data are shown below:

CI=Confidence interval, CR=Complete response, PR=Partial response, SD=Stable disease, PD=Progression of disease, DoR=Duration of response, PFS=Progression-free survival, OS=Overall survival, NE=Not evaluable.

“+” No progressive disease or death as of last disease assessment.

a Includes all patients as-treated.

b Kaplan-Meier method for censored data.

By safety data cutoff (May 21, 2024), grade ≥3 treatment-related adverse events (TRAEs) occurred in 59% of patients. The most common Grade 3-4 TRAEs were anemia (39%), neutrophil count decreased (29%), white blood cells count decreased (16%), stomatitis (12%), and platelet count decreased (8%), which were generally reversible with dose modifications and/or supportive care. No Grade 5 TRAEs occurred; TRAEs led to sac-TMT discontinuation in one patient.

About sac-TMT

Sac-TMT, a core product of the Company, is a novel human TROP2 ADC in which the Company has proprietary intellectual property rights, targeting advanced solid tumors such as NSCLC, breast cancer (BC), gastric cancer (GC), gynecological tumors, among others. Sac-TMT is developed with a novel linker to conjugate the payload, a belotecan-derivative topoisomerase I inhibitor with a drug-to-antibody-ratio (DAR) of 7.4. Sac-TMT specifically recognizes TROP2 on the surface of tumor cells by recombinant anti-TROP2 humanized monoclonal antibodies, which is then endocytosed by tumor cells and releases KL610023 intracellularly. KL610023, as a topoisomerase I inhibitor, induces DNA damage to tumor cells, which in turn leads to cell-cycle arrest and apoptosis. In addition, it also releases KL610023 in the tumor microenvironment. Given that KL610023 is membrane permeable, it can enable a bystander effect, or in other words kill adjacent tumor cells.

Previously, the National Medical Products Administration (NMPA) has approved the marketing of sac-TMT in China for 2L+ advanced triple negative breast cancer (TNBC), and accepted two supplemental new drug applications (sNDA) seeking the approvals of sac-TMT monotherapy for 2L/3L EGFR-mutant non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC).

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 sac-TMT in all territories outside of Greater China (which includes Mainland China, Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan).

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 more than 30 ongoing key innovative drug projects, of which 3 projects have been approved for marketing, 1 project is in the NDA stage, and more than 10 projects are in the clinical stage. The company has established one of the world’s leading proprietary ADC platforms, OptiDC™, and has 1 ADC project approved for marketing, 1 ADC project in NDA stage, and multiple ADC or novel ADC projects in clinical or preclinical research stage. For more information, please visit https://kelun-biotech.com/.

Jan. 21 2025

Sichuan Kelun-Biotech Biopharmaceutical Co., Ltd. (the “Company”) announced that the Company received marketing authorization in China from National Medical Products Administration (NMPA) for the programmed cell death ligand 1(PD-L1)-directed innovative humanized monoclonal antibody (“mAb”) tagitanlimab (formerly KL-A167) used in combination with cisplatin and gemcitabine for the first-line treatment of patients with recurrent or metastatic nasopharyngeal cancer (NPC).

The approval is based on a randomized, double-blinded, placebo controlled, multi-center, phase III clinical study evaluates the efficacy and safety results of tagitanlimab in combination with cisplatin and gemcitabine versus placebo in combination with cisplatin and gemcitabine for the treatment of recurrent or metastatic NPC, which was led by Professor Shi Yuankai of the Cancer Hospital Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences as the principal investigator.

According to the study results, tagitanlimab used in combination with cisplatin and gemcitabine for the first-line treatment for recurrent or metastatic NPC could have better progression-free survival (PFS), higher objective response rate (ORR) and extended duration of response (DoR) compared with chemotherapy, where all the patients could benefit regardless of the PD-L1 expression. The median PFS for tagitanlimab in combination with chemotherapy is not reached compared to 7.9 months for placebo in combination with chemotherapy (HR=0.47, 95% CI: 0.33-0.66, p<0.0001), and the risk of disease progression and death is reduced by 53%; ORR is 81.7% vs 74.5%; median DoR is 11.7 vs 5.8 months(HR=0.48, 95% CI: 0.32-0.70), which has nearly doubled compared to placebo arm; currently the median overall survival (OS) is still not mature, however the beneficial trend for OS of tagitanlimab in combination with chemotherapy has already been observed (HR=0.62, 95％CI: 0.32-1.22), and its risk of death is reduced by 38%[1]. Tagitanlimab also showed a manageable safety profile.

This is the second indication approved for tagitanlimab. Previously, NMPA has approved the marketing in China of tagitanlimab monotherapy for the treatment of patients with recurrent or metastatic NPC who have failed after prior 2L+ chemotherapy.

Dr. Micheal Ge, CEO of Kelun-Biotech said, “We are pleased that the second indication of our self-developed PD-L1 monoclonal antibody was successfully approved for marketing and demonstrated statistically significant and clinically meaningful improvements in PFS. For domestic NPC patients, Tagitanlimab has realized a breakthrough in therapeutic coverage and innovation from the backline to the frontline, which once again strongly validates the excellent strength of Kelun-Biotech's new drug research and development. In the future, the company will always be based on unmet clinical needs, source innovation, and explore more and more excellent clinical therapeutic solutions to benefit more patients.”

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 more than 30 ongoing key innovative drug projects, of which 2 projects have been approved for marketing, 2 projects are in the NDA stage, and more than 10 projects are in the clinical stage. The company has established one of the world’s leading proprietary ADC platforms, OptiDC™, and has 1 ADC project approved for marketing, 1 ADC project in NDA stage, and multiple ADC or novel ADC projects in clinical or preclinical research stage. For more information, please visit https://kelun-biotech.com/.

Jan. 21, 2025.

Sichuan Kelun-Biotech Biopharmaceutical Co., Ltd. (the “Company”) announced that the Company has received a clinical trial notice approving the investigational new drug application for the innovative drug SKB445 developed by the Company from the Center for Drug Evaluation of the National Medical Products Administration.

SKB445 is a novel ADC drug with proprietary intellectual property rights developed by the Company based on the biological characteristics of the target and using the technology of the OptiDC^TM platform, which has demonstrated promising efficacy and safety window in preclinical studies and is intended to be used for the treatment of advanced solid tumors.

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 more than 30 ongoing key innovative drug projects, of which 2 projects have been approved for marketing, 2 projects are in the NDA stage, and more than 10 projects are in the clinical stage. The company has established one of the world’s leading proprietary ADC platforms, OptiDC™, and has 1 ADC project approved for marketing, 1 ADC project in NDA stage, and multiple ADC or novel ADC projects in clinical or preclinical research stage. For more information, please visit https://kelun-biotech.com/.

The 43rd J.P. Morgan Annual Healthcare Conference (“JPMHC”) 2025 will take place January 13-16 in San Fracisco, USA, local time. Sichuan Kelun-Biotech Biopharmaceutical Co., Ltd. (“Kelun-Biotech” or “The Company”, 6990.HK) was invited to the conference. Dr. Michael Ge, President and CEO of Kelun-Biotech, will deliver a presentation on updated business progresses and development plan of Kelun-Biotech.

Presentation Time: Pacific Time (PT) Thursday 9:30 AM, January 16, 2025

Presentation Location: San Fracisco, USA (Westin St. Francis)

JPMHC is honored as the “benchmark for the development and investment of global healthcare area”. This conference would attract more than 400 healthcare companies and 3,000 industrial investors globally for discussion of the new trends and development directions of the healthcare industry. During this JPMHC, Kelun-biotech would work together with those massive senior experts and talents of healthcare area, by focusing on the cutting-edge industrial topics, to discuss the future development and collaboration opportunities of healthcare industry.

You can visit Investor Relations page of Kelun-Biotech’s official website for participation of live webcast of presentation session, and watch replay within 30 days after the conference

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 more than 30 ongoing key innovative drug projects, of which 2 projects have been approved for marketing, 2 projects are in the NDA stage, and more than 10 projects are in the clinical stage. The company has established one of the world’s leading proprietary ADC platforms, OptiDC™, and has 1 ADC project approved for marketing, 1 ADC project in NDA stage, and multiple ADC or novel ADC projects in clinical or preclinical research stage. For more information, please visit https://kelun-biotech.com/.

Jan. 10. 2025

Sichuan Kelun-Biotech Biopharmaceutical Co., Ltd. (the “Company”) announced that the Company and HBM Holdings Limited  (“Harbour BioMed”) (together with the Company, the “Licensors”), have entered into an exclusive license agreement (the “License Agreement”) with Windward Bio AG (“Windward Bio”) for SKB378/HBM9378[1], an anti-thymic stromal lymphopoietin (TSLP) monoclonal antibody (mAb) jointly developed by the Licensors.

Subject to the terms and conditions of the License Agreement, Windward Bio is granted an exclusive license for the research, development, manufacturing and commercialization of SKB378/HBM9378 globally (excluding Greater China and several Southeast and West Asian countries). In return, the Licensors are eligible to receive a total of up to US$970 million upfront and milestone payments as well as single to double-digit tiered royalties on net sales of SKB378/HBM9378. The US$45 million upfront and near-term payments include both cash consideration and equity in the parent company of Windward Bio. Subject to the terms and conditions of the License Agreement, the Licensors are also eligible to receive additional payment from Windward Bio if Windward Bio undergoes a near-term change of control or enters into a sublicense agreement with a third party. The payments to be made by Windward Bio to the Licensors under the License Agreement shall be paid in equal amounts to the Company and Harbour BioMed.

Windward Bio is a clinical-stage, drug development company committed to improving outcomes for people living with advanced immunological conditions with an initial focus on severe respiratory conditions. It is led by a highly experienced team of biopharmaceutical Ｅxecutives with deep discovery, development, and commercialization expertise, and is advancing a potential best-in-class TSLP monoclonal antibody into phase 2 development and creating novel, long-acting bispecific programs for immunological diseases. Collectively, they have contributed to more than 15 product launches and Ｅxecuted two Nasdaq IPOs and two sales.

In connection with the License Agreement, Windward Bio announced a US$200 million Series A financing round led by OrbiMed, Novo Holdings and Blue Owl Healthcare Opportunities with the co-investment of SR One, Omega Funds, RTW Investments, Qiming Venture Partners, Quan Capital, and Pivotal bioVenture Partners. 

Dr. Micheal Ge, CEO of Kelun-Biotech said, “We are pleased to have entered into a partnership with Windward Bio for the SKB378/HBM9378, one of our pioneering pipelines in immunology area, which is not only a proof of its potential market value globally, but also a practice of our active exploration of global cooperation. SKB378/HBM9378 is our first immunology product candidate out licensed with a NewCo model. In the future, we will continue to expand our global presence and strategic partnerships to maximize the value of our pipelines.”

ABOUT SKB378/HBM9378

SKB378/HBM9378 is a co-development project jointly conducted by the Company and Harbour BioMed, with both parties equally sharing global rights. SKB378/HBM9378 is a novel, recombinant fully human monoclonal antibody (mAb) that potently binds to the TSLP ligand and inhibits the TSLP mediated signaling pathway by blocking the interaction between TSLP and TSLP receptor. This is a well-validated cytokine that plays a key role in the development and progression of a wide array of immunological conditions, including asthma and COPD where inhibition has demonstrated benefit in a wide array of inflammatory phenotypes. SKB378/HBM9378 has been engineered to achieve an extended half-life and effector silencing and is subcutaneously administered.

In November 2024, an IND application to the Center for Drug Evaluation (CDE) of the National Medical Products Administration (NMPA) was submitted for SKB378/HBM9378 for the treatment of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). The Company has also completed phase 1 clinical trial in healthy subjects in China under IND approval from the NMPA for the treatment of moderate-to-severe asthma.

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 more than 30 ongoing key innovative drug projects, of which 2 projects have been approved for marketing, 2 projects are in the NDA stage, and more than 10 projects are in the clinical stage. The company has established one of the world’s leading proprietary ADC platforms, OptiDC™, and has 1 ADC project approved for marketing, 1 ADC project in NDA stage, and multiple ADC or novel ADC projects in clinical or preclinical research stage. For more information, please visithttps://kelun-biotech.com/.