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On June 4th, a new type of innovative drug named “Vimatom®” (generic name: Anerutecritin) departed from the Biomedical Valley of the New District. Through priority review and approval, it was approved for market launch by the National Drug Administration, and is used to treat adult and adolescents aged 12 and above with solid tumors carrying NTRK fusion genes.
This is the first type-1 innovative drug approved for listing in Nanjing this year, and it is also the third global new-generation TRK inhibitor. As an anti-cancer drug that is “not limited to any specific type of cancer”, Vimato® will offer more patients with solid tumors a brand-new treatment option.
How much is this “Jiangbei-made” innovative drug worth?
If you were to describe this innovative drug in one sentence, it could be said like this: As long as a tumor has a specific marker called “NTRK gene fusion”, no matter whether it is located in the lungs, breasts or thyroid glands, Vimatou® can precisely target and “lock onto” it.
To understand this breakthrough, we need to first talk about the story behind it.
In our bodies, there is a gene family called NTRK. When these genes fuse with other genes, they can produce an abnormal TRK fusion protein, which drives cells to proliferate indefinitely and eventually leads to the occurrence of tumors.
It is known that NTRK gene fusion is widely present in over 45 types of cancers. Although the overall proportion is not high, with a large population base in China, there are approximately 15,000 new cases of tumors carrying the NTRK fusion gene each year. These patients often have poor prognosis, short survival periods, rapid disease progression and a high risk of brain metastasis. What’s more challenging is that the first-generation TRK inhibitors often develop resistance after use, causing the treatment to reach a stalemate.
The emergence of Vimato® precisely addresses this issue.
The relevant person in charge of the enterprise introduced that this medicine has three notable features: Firstly, it has remarkable therapeutic effects. The registered clinical research results show that over 85% of the patients experienced a reduction or stabilization of their tumors after treatment. Secondly, the drug has strong penetration into the brain. In clinical trials, it also achieved an objective response rate of nearly 90% for patients with brain metastases. Thirdly, the innovative cyclic molecular structure of Vimato® can effectively avoid the problem of drug resistance mutations.
“This is a broad-spectrum anti-cancer drug that is not limited to any specific type of tumor.” Dr. Gong Yanchun, the co-founder, chairman and CEO of Weikei Pharmaceutical, said, “The entire project took less than five years from the approval of the clinical application to the approval of the market launch. All the research teams and partners involved worked at full speed, solely to enable more patients with solid tumors to receive better treatment earlier.”
It is worth noting that this innovative drug has been included in the “Encouragement Pilot Program for Children’s Anti-Tumor Drug Research (Starlight Program)” by the National Medical Products Administration. The clinical trial work for patients with NTRK resistance is also advancing rapidly.
From a single new drug, we can see a “pharmaceutical valley”
Of course, the emergence of Vimato® was not an isolated event.
If you turn your gaze towards the New District Biomedical Valley, you will notice that beneath Longwang Mountain, news of innovative drugs keeps coming in. In this “valley”, a series of memorable good drugs have already emerged.
The “Xianbixin” series of products from Xiansheng Pharmaceutical, ranging from injections to sublingual tablets, have saved precious time for countless stroke patients; the CAR-T cell therapy Fokous® developed by Reindeer Biotechnology has benefited hundreds of patients and attracted 40 overseas patients to come for treatment in China; Zhengxiang Pharmaceutical’s Jiekeshu® has provided a new domestic option for the treatment of influenza…
As of now, the Pharmaceutical Valley has had 7 first-class new drugs approved for market release. Among the 3 first-class new drugs in the city last year, the Pharmaceutical Valley “contributed” 2 of them. You should know that in the field of biomedicine, new drug research usually follows the “three tens rule” – that is, it takes ten years, costs ten billion US dollars, and has a ten percent success rate. First-class new drugs are even called the “crown jewels” of the biomedicine industry. The value is self-evident.
Not only these 7 newly-launched drugs of the first category, but also many other enterprises in the pharmaceutical park are targeting the “difficult-to-tackle” clinical issues to develop new drugs. The park provides a solid public technology support platform, a complete upstream and downstream industrial chain, as well as precise policy support, all of which are dedicated to providing continuous guidance and support for their growth.
Nowadays, in the laboratories of the park, more “seeds” are breaking through the soil. A series of new drug pipelines are well-organized and full of potential. Among them, there might be the next “first in the city” and the next “world’s new” drug.
Below Longwang Mountain, the story of innovation is just beginning to write an exciting new chapter.
