Antengene Corporation Limited, a leading innovative biopharmaceutical company dedicated to discovering, developing and commercializing global first-in-class and/or best-in-class therapeutics in hematology and oncology, announced that China's National Medical Products Administration (NMPA) has approved the initiation of a Phase Ib/II open-label, multicenter, dose-escalation study of eltanexor (ATG-016) in patients with advanced solid tumors (the REACH study).

This study aims to assess the safety and efficacy of eltanexor monotherapy in patients with advanced solid tumors. The Phase Ib part of the study will be carried out in patients with advanced solid tumors, including those with KRAS-mutant, p53 wild-type, human papillomavirus (HPV)-associated, Epstein–Barr virus (EBV)-positive and other solid tumors; and the Phase II part of the study will enroll patients with recurrent or metastatic penile squamous cell carcinoma, and patients with recurrent or metastatic nasopharyngeal carcinoma.

Eltanexor is a next-generation selective inhibitor of nuclear export (SINE) compound which exerts antitumor effects by inhibiting the nuclear export protein XPO1 leading to the accumulation and activation of tumor suppressor proteins in the nucleus, while simultaneously blocking the expression and translation of oncogenic proteins. For cancer patients, high XPO1 expression is commonly associated with a poor prognosis and resistance to chemotherapies. Pre-clinical data showed that eltanexor has potent pro-apoptotic activity in a broad spectrum of tumor cells without affecting normal cells. Moreover, eltanexor has also showed potent antitumor activity in animal models with multiple solid tumors including hepatocellular carcinoma, prostate cancer, pancreatic cancer, colon cancer and breast cancer.

"This IND approval marks an important step for Antengene's clinical development of eltanexor, one that we hope will ultimately allow patients with solid tumors to benefit from eltanexor's novel mechanism of action," said Dr. Jay Mei, founder, chairman and CEO of Antengene. "Based on the compelling pre-clinical and clinical data, eltanexor monotherapy has the potential of bringing renewed hope and higher quality of life to patients with advanced solid tumors in China."

About Eltanexor (ATG-016)

Eltanexor is a next-generation selective inhibitor of nuclear export (SINE) compound. Compared to the first-generation SINE compound, eltanexor has lower blood-brain barrier penetration and broader therapeutic window which allows more frequent dosing and a longer period of exposure at higher levels with better tolerability. Therefore, eltanexor may be used to target a broader range of indications. Antengene is currently conducting clinical trials of eltanexor in patients with myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS) or advanced solid tumors in China.

About Antengene

Antengene Corporation Limited ("Antengene", SEHK: 6996.HK) is a leading clinical-stage R&D driven biopharmaceutical company focused on innovative medicines for oncology and other life threatening diseases. Antengene aims to provide the most advanced anti-cancer drugs to patients in the Asia Pacific Region and around the world. Since its establishment in 2017, Antengene has built a broad and expanding pipeline of clinical and pre-clinical stage assets through partnerships as well as in-house drug discovery, and obtained 15 investigational new drug (IND) approvals and submitted 5 new drug applications (NDA) in multiple markets in Asia Pacific. Antengene's vision is to "Treat Patients Beyond Borders". Antengene is focused on and committed to addressing significant unmet medical needs by discovering, developing and commercializing first-in-class/best-in-class therapeutics.