Takeda's Livtencity gains approval in China

China’s National Medical Products Administration (NMPA) has approved Japanese pharma major Takeda’s (TYO: 4502) antiviral drug Livtencity (maribavir).

The drug is authorized for the treatment of adult patients with post-hematopoietic stem cell transplant (HSCT) or solid organ transplant (SOT) cytomegalovirus (CMV) infection/disease that is refractory to treatment (with or without genotypic resistance) with ganciclovir, valganciclovir, cidofovir or foscarnet.

Livtencity is the first and only inhibitor of CMV-specific UL97 protein kinase in China for this indication. The drug was granted Breakthrough Therapy designation by China Center for Drug Evaluation (CDE) in 2021.