Everest Medicines launches Nefecon in Mainland China

Chinese biopharma company Everest Medicines (HKEX: 1952) announced that Nefecon, a delayed release capsule of budesonide, has been successfully launched in China with the first prescription issued.

Everest Medicines has a license agreement with Swedish firm Calliditas Therapeutics (Nasdaq: CALT)  to develop and commercialize Nefecon (budesonide) for the treatment of primary IgA nephropathy (IgAN) in South Korea, China, Singapore, and other South East Asian markets.

China has the highest prevalence of primary glomerular diseases in the world, with IgAN accounting for about 35% to 50% of cases. Studies show that a majority of IgAN patients face the risk of progressing to end-stage renal disease during their lifetime, often requiring dialysis or kidney transplantation. There is a significant unmet medical for effective treatments for IgAN patients in China and across Asia. Present non-targeted therapies, such as renin-angiotensin system (RAS) inhibitors, fail to address the underlying disease progression., the company noted.