Country for PR: United States
Contributor: PR Newswire New York
Tuesday, June 04 2019 - 23:00
AsiaNet
RemeGen, Ltd. Announces Positive Results from RC48 Clinical Trial in HER2-Positive Metastatic or Unresectable Urothelial Cancer
YANTAI, China, June 4, 2019 /PRNewswire-AsiaNet/ --

--Results, presented at the 2019 American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) 
Annual Meeting, demonstrated clinically meaningful response in patients with 
urothelial carcinoma whose treatment previously failed, a population with high 
unmet medical need 

RemeGen, Ltd. today announced positive topline results for a Phase II clinical 
trial of RC48. The HER2-targeting antibody-drug conjugate (ADC) and potential 
new medicine was evaluated in patients with HER2-positive metastatic or 
unresectable urothelial cancer who have received previous treatment with 
chemotherapies and had visceral metastasis. 

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Results showed a 51 percent confirmed objective response rate (cORR) per 
independent central review. The most common treatment-related adverse events 
included hypoesthesia, alopecia and hemotoxicity. These results are expected to 
support a global late stage clinical trial, including an Investigational New 
Drug Application (IND), with the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) 
anticipated in the second half of 2019.

"We are encouraged to see positive data from the RC48 trial now reinforcing 
what earlier data have shown," said Jianmin Fang, Ph.D., founder and CEO of 
RemeGen, Ltd. "Urothelial carcinoma is a common cancer worldwide and we believe 
RC48 has the potential to redefine the treatment for these patients, as well as 
for patients with HER2-expressing cancers who continue to have high unmet 
medical need."

Urothelial carcinoma, also known as transitional cell carcinoma, is the most 
common type of bladder cancer (90 percent of cases).(i) Globally, approximately 
549,000 people were diagnosed with bladder cancer in 2018 and there were about 
200,000 deaths.(ii) Unfortunately, no breakthrough treatments for metastatic 
urothelial carcinoma have emerged in over two decades. The current therapeutic 
options, which include cisplatin-based combination chemotherapy, have subpar 
efficacy, as reflected in high rates of recurrence and mortality.(iii)

"For HER2-positive urothelial carcinoma patients with previously-treated 
locally advanced or metastatic urothelial cancer, there's no targeted treatment 
available," said Fang. "These results for RC48 indicate it may be able to help 
patients whose cancer has progressed following treatment with standard 
chemotherapy and immuno-oncology agents and we look forward to discussing the 
data with relevant health authorities."

About RC48 
RC48, a novel antibody-drug conjugate (ADC), was developed to treat 
HER2-positive solid tumors. It is comprised of a novel HER2-monoclonal 
antibody, a cathepsin cleavable linker and monomethyl auristatin E (MMAE), as 
the cytotoxic payload. The HER2-targeted antibody has a higher affinity for 
HER2 compared to standard of care, and superior anti-tumor activity compared to 
other treatments in animal models. RC48 was the first ADC drug approved for 
human clinical trials in China and an excellent safety profile has been 
observed in clinical trials. It is currently being studied in multiple 
late-stage clinical trials across solid tumor types. 

About RemeGen, Ltd. 
RemeGen, Ltd. is a leading biopharmaceutical company in China dedicated to 
fulfilling unmet medical needs for patients with life-threatening conditions. 
RemeGen, Ltd.'s main focus is research and development, manufacturing and 
commercialization of novel biologics, most notably monoclonal antibodies (mAb) 
and antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs). Headquartered in Yantai, Shandong 
Province, RemeGen, Ltd. has laboratory research facilities and offices in 
Beijing, Shanghai and California. It has an extensive collaboration with Tongji 
University, one of the top universities in China. Since its inception in 2008, 
RemeGen, Ltd. has created more than 10 novel drug molecules that are in various 
stages of development. Currently, there are two products in Phase III clinical 
development to treat autoimmune and oncology indications: RC18 and RC48.

Forward-Looking Statements 
Certain of the statements made in this press release are forward-looking, such 
as those, among others, relating to the possible utility or application of the 
Company's technologies to develop therapeutic agents, therapeutic potential of 
investigational agents, and future development activities including clinical 
trials. Actual results or developments may differ materially from those 
projected or implied in these forward-looking statements. Factors that may 
cause such a difference include the difficulty and uncertainty of 
pharmaceutical product development, including the risks that RemeGen, Ltd. may 
experience delays in its planned clinical trial initiations or otherwise 
experience failures or setbacks in its preclinical and clinical development 
programs due to the potential lack of efficacy or risk of adverse events as 
RemeGen, Ltd.'s product candidates advance in development or other factors. 
These factors include those discussed in RemeGen, Ltd.'s public reports are 
available by contacting Dan Ross at danross@remegen.cn. RemeGen, Ltd. disclaims 
any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, 
whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

(i) American Society of Clinical Oncology. Bladder Cancer: Introduction 
(10-2017). https://www.cancer.net/cancer-types/bladder-cancer/introduction. 
(ii) World Health Organization. Global Health Observatory. Geneva: World Health 
Organization; 2018. who.int/gho/database/en. Accessed May 21, 2019. 
(iii) Vlachostergios PJ, Jakubowski CD, Niaz MJ, et al. Antibody-Drug 
Conjugates in Bladder Cancer. Bladder Cancer. 2018;4(3):247–259. Published 2018 
Jul 30. 

SOURCE: RemeGen Ltd.

CONTACT: Media Contact: Susan Heins, +1 864.346.8336, 
SHeins@spectrumscience.com; Investor Contact: Dan Ross, +1 619.208.8439, 
danross@remegen.cn

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