BRIEF—Apollomics announces first approval of vebreltinib for NSCLC

US clinical-stage biopharma Apollomics (Nasdaq: APLM) leapt on the announcement yesterday that its partner in China, Avistone Biotechnology, has received conditional approval from the National Medical Products Administration (NMPA) of China for the commercialization of vebreltinib to treat patients with MET exon 14 skipping non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC).

Apollomics’ shares were up 48.9% at $1.30 from the previous close of $0.87 on a volume of 37,842,282.

"The NMPA approval of vebreltinib is an important milestone toward providing a new treatment option for patients with MET exon 14 skipping NSCLC in China. Apollomics extends its full support and congratulations to Avistone on this significant achievement," said Guo-Liang Yu, chairman and chief executive of Apollomics.

"Our collaboration with Avistone and our ongoing global SPARTA trial with vebreltinib underscores our dedication to developing novel therapies for difficult to treat cancers and drug resistant patients worldwide," he added.

In pursuit of the MET exon 14 skipping NSCLC indication, Apollomics is in active discussion with the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) regarding a New Drug Application (NDA) for vebreltinib based on totality of clinical data from the global SPARTA trial and Avistone’s KUNPENG trial in China.