shanghai, china. on may 10, 2020, jiangsu hansoh pharmaceutical group co., ltd. ("hansoh pharma") successfully completed the launch meeting for ameile® (almonertinib tablets), an innovative new medicine that was independently discovered and developed in-house. as the world's second and china's first domestic, 3rd generation innovative egfr-tki drug, the launch of ameile® has attracted strong attention from well-known experts and scholars in the field of lung cancer. numerous experts and scholars gathered together “offline online” to witness the launch of ameile® at the main venue in shanghai and the two sub-venues in beijing and guangzhou.
ameile® launch meeting
highlighting china's innovation strength through scientific and technological advances
ameile® has been approved for the treatment of non-small cell lung cancer, overcoming major development barriers in addressing diseases with urgent unmet medical needs. dr. wang guangji, member of the chinese academy of engineering, professor liao meilin and professor pan changqing of shanghai chest hospital, shanghai jiaotong university, professor wu yilong of guangdong provincial people's hospital, professor cheng ying of jilin cancer hospital and professor wang jie of the cancer hospital of the chinese academy of medical sciences delivered keynote speeches at the launch meeting, congratulating the successful approval of ameile®.
dr. wang guangji stated that, as a landmark innovation supported by major scientific and technological projects, the advent of ameile® has filled the treatment gap in the domestic lung cancer landscape. professor liao meilin emphasized that ameile® will provide clinicians with a new, powerful, safe, and accessible option, and give more patients hope for better quality of life in the long run. professor wu yilong pointed out that ameile® has an efficacy profile comparable to that of other advanced drugs in the world, thus illustrating the strong r&d and innovation capabilities by chinese domestic pharmaceutical enterprises.
excellent efficacy and safety profile provides patients with new option
clinical data demonstrate an excellent efficacy and safety profile for ameile®. ameile® is the world's first 3rd generation egfr-tki with a median progression-free survival (mpfs) of more than 1 year (second-line use) and is effective against brain metastases as well. as the leading pi in its clinical studies, professor lu shun of the shanghai chest hospital, shanghai jiaotong university walked through the phase i and phase ii data at the launch meeting.
"for the first time, we have obtained stable median pfs data in patients with egfr t790m positive mutation. the median pfs exceeds 1 year and is by far the best pfs for second-line treatment. clinical data of patients with brain metastases show that the response rate reaches 60%, the efficacy is consistent with that of the overall population, and brain metastases are well controlled. furthermore, the follow-up period has been extended, and the clinical safety profile is very good." professor lu shun believes that "the clinical development of ameile® signifies a landmark milestone for the research and development of new drugs in china. it fundamentally alleviates the dependence of advanced lung cancer patients on imported drugs, and brings new options and hope to advanced lung cancer patients in china."
supporting the advancement of lung cancer medicines
the launch of almonertinib helps alleviate drug accessibility obstacles for advanced lung cancer patients who develop drug resistance. at the launch meeting, mrs. liu, an elderly patient who has been battling advanced lung cancer for 7 years, shared her "anti-cancer path". mrs. liu was diagnosed with advanced lung cancer in 2013. after her disease progressed in 2015, she developed drug-resistant t790m mutations, but her treatment options were limited to chemotherapy after she missed a clinical trial for an imported 3rd generation egfr-tki. due to inaccessibility of novel drugs, mrs. liu was not able to receive 3rd generation egfr-tki therapy until the end of 2017, when the first clinical trial recruitment for almonertinib began and mrs. liu enrolled in the trial. her tumor shrunk significantly and was effectively controlled after only one month of treatment. two and a half years later, her cancer is still in remission, and mrs. liu credits almonertinib for rekindling her passion for life.
in order to benefit more patients, huilan public foundation and hansoh pharma co-sponsored the "huilan public welfare-hansoh pharma lung cancer precision medicine research fund". through this fund, hansoh pharma strives to support the development of lung cancer medicine in china, to encourage scientific research innovation, to explore best practices for using 3rd generation egfr-tkis, to improve clinical research capabilities in lung cancer, and to promote the improvement of medical care and citizens’ well-being.
lv aifeng, president of hansoh pharma, credited the successful approval and launch of ameile® to “the tremendous work performed by the company's research and development team, the invaluable support from and collaboration with key opinion leaders, as well as the support from the state. in the future, hansoh pharma strives to accelerate the pace of scientific and technological innovations; continuously introduce more, newer and better innovative drugs; and contribute to china’s innovation strength in order to improve the health and quality of life of patients in china and globally. we are dedicated to discovering and developing novel therapeutics, and strengthening chinese domestic innovation!”