China's first domestically developed drug targeting one type of lung cancer approved

Cai Wenjun
A China's self-developed drug was approved by the national authority, the first in the world tailored to the specific lung cancer genetic mutation it targets.
Cai Wenjun

A domestically developed drug targeting one type of lung cancer was approved by the national authority, the first in the world tailored to the specific genetic mutation it targets.

Savolitinib specifically targets lung cancer with MET exon 14 skipping mutation, found in 2 to 3 percent of lung cancer patients, which translates to 8,000 new cases in China every year.

Previously, there was no effective medication to treat the mutation, and the average survival rate is only six to eight months with ordinary chemotherapy.

"Both Chinese and Western experts have conducted research on this mutation for years, and it is the first time that China has taken a leading position in new drug development and can introduce a Chinese-developed drug to the world," said Dr Lu Shun of Shanghai Chest Hospital, a leading expert on Savolitinib's research team, which consisted of a multi-center approach among 32 Chinese hospitals.

The first patient who participated in the clinical trial has survived for four and a half years and still has a good quality of life.

During the five-year clinical trial, 49 percent of patients experienced very positive effects with shrinking tumors.

"We are introducing the new drug into other types of lung cancer that will enable more terminal lung cancer patients to live longer and better lives," Lu said. "With the development of more new drugs, we are confident to make lung cancer a chronic disease in the near future. Chronic disease means patients' average survival is at least five years."

Experts say China has made great strides in new drug development in recent years.

"We learned how to do clinical trials from Western countries, and followed their steps in multi-center clinical trials between 1999 and 2009," Lu said. "We then developed our own expertise and took a more active role in clinical trials between 2009 and 2019. Now we are leading more trials and even introducing domestically made new drugs to the world."

China's first domestically developed drug targeting one type of lung cancer approved
Ti Gong

Dr Lu Shun from Shanghai Chest Hospital talks to a lung cancer patient.

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