China's NMPA approves Innovent's anti-PD-1 antibody Tyvyt

Chinese regulator the National Medical Products Administration (NMPA) has approved Tyvyt (sintilimab) for the treatment of patients with classical Hodgkin's lymphoma (cHL) that has relapsed or refractory (r/r) after two or more lines of systemic chemotherapy (r/r cHL).

The approval of Tyvyt highlights the emergence of China in the field of immuno-oncology, said the product’s co-developers, Chinese biotech firm Innovent Biologics (HKEX: 01801) and US pharma major Eli Lilly (NYSE: LLY). Innovent’s shares gained 1.68% to HK$21.20 on the news.

According to Cancer Today from the WHO's International Agency for Research for Cancer, China will have about 4.28 million newly-diagnosed cancer patients and 2.86 million deaths from cancer in 2018[1]. Thus China faces massive challenges from its growing burden of cancer. Lymphoma is one of the common cancers in China, and cHL, a type of B-cell lymphoma affects young and middle-aged people. Although the combination therapy of chemotherapy and radiation has a good likelihood of inducing a complete response, patients have a 15%- 20% chance of recurrence after the first line treatment. Therefore, patients urgently need new innovative medications and treatment solutions. Delivering effective treatment for r/r cHL is a serious challenge for the oncology and hematology community.