Hutchmed impresses investors with fruquintinib data

China-based Hutchmed (AIM; HKEX/HCM: 13) has reported data from FRUTIGA, its Phase III trial of fruquintinib alongside paclitaxel for the treatment of second-line advanced gastric cancer in China, at the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) Plenary Series Session.

Sold under the brand name Elunate, fruquintinib is a selective oral inhibitor of vascular endothelial growth factor receptors -1, -2 and -3, which play a pivotal role in blocking tumor angiogenesis.

The dual primary endpoints were progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS), and the study was declared positive as the PFS endpoint met statistical significance at a pre-defined alpha level.