Hutchmed (China) Ltd on Tuesday jointly announced with Innovent Biologics that their new drug application for the combined fruquintinib and sintilimab treatment for endometrial cancer has been granted priority review by the China National Medical Products Administration.

The Hong Kong-based developer of treatments for cancer and immunological diseases said this was supported by positive data from the Frusica-1 phase 2 study.

According to Hutchmed, 82,000 people in China were diagnosed with endometrial cancer, causing approximately 17,000 deaths in 2020.

Fruquintinib, also known as Fruzaqla, is developed and marketed in China by Hutchmed.

Back in February, Hutchmed announced that phase three data for fruquintinib in combination with paclitaxel had showed an improvement in overall survival for patients with gastric or gastroesophageal junction adenocarcinoma.

Hutchmed Head of Research & Development and Chief Medical Officer Michael Shi commented: ‘This is the first regulatory filing for the combination of fruquintinib and the immune checkpoint inhibitor sintilimab. It also represents an important step closer to reshaping the treatment landscape for this challenging disease in China. Endometrial cancer remains one of the most common gynecological malignancies. We look forward to bringing this much-awaited treatment advancement to endometrial cancer patients to improve their treatment outcome.’

Shares in Hutchmed were flat at $16.76 each in London on Tuesday morning.

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