Antengene Corporation Limited ("Antengene", SEHK: 6996.HK), 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, today announced that through a priority review process, the South Korean Ministry of Food and Drug Safety (MFDS) has approved the company's New Drug Application (NDA) for the Orphan Drug-designated first-in-class oral inhibitor of XPO1, selinexor (XPOVIO?), in combination with dexamethasone for the treatment of adult patients with relapsed or refractory multiple myeloma (rrMM) who have received at least four prior therapies and whose disease is refractory to at least two proteasome inhibitors, at least two immunomodulatory agents, and an anti-CD38 monoclonal antibody (penta-refractory); and as a monotherapy for the treatment  of adult patients with relapsed/refractory diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (rrDLBCL) who have received at least two prior lines of treatment.

Introduction of a practice-changing therapy for MM and DLBCL patients

Most patients with MM eventually suffer from relapse or become refractory diseases. For patients who have failed in one therapy, diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) has poor  prognosis and the chance of cure or long-term disease-free survival declined every time getting worse after treatment. At present, there is no cure for rrMM and rrDLBCL and it is in dire need for safer and more effective therapies.

In October 2020, selinexor was granted an Orphan Drug Designation (ODD) in South Korea, where the term "Orphan Drug" is defined by the MFDS as therapies used to treat diseases affecting 20,000 or fewer patients and therapies used to treat diseases for which no appropriate therapy has been developed, or therapies that have demonstrated significant improvement in safety and/or efficacy compared to existing treatments.

A new mechanism of action with a broad therapeutic window

Selinexor's novel mechanism of action (MoA) which is based on the selective inhibition of the nuclear export protein XPO1, is different from that of all  currently approved therapies. The  drug can be combined with various therapies to deliver improved treatment outcomes in these diseases.  To date, five selinexor-based regimens have been added to the National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN?) Guidelines.

In addition, a number of international multicenter clinical trials in respect of selinexor are jointly carried out in places such as North America, Europe, Australia, Asia. These include the study of XPORT-DLBCL-030 in international multicenter clinical trials in combination with R-GDP for the treatment of rrDLBCL, and the study of SIENDO in international multicenter clinical trials of monotherapy of endometrial neoplasms.

Minyoung Kim, General Manager of Antengene, commented: "We are very encouraged by the MFDS' approval of selinexor. I am confident that this oral selective inhibitor of nuclear export protein, with its practice-changing therapeutic utility, will improve the quality of life of patients with rrMM and rrDLBCL in South Korea, and bring renewed hope to this patient population."

About XPOVIO? (selinexor)

XPOVIO is a first-in-class, oral Selective Inhibitor of Nuclear Export (SINE) compound. XPOVIO functions by selectively binding to and inhibiting the nuclear export protein exportin 1 (XPO1, also called CRM1). XPOVIO blocks the nuclear export of tumor suppressor, growth regulatory and anti-inflammatory proteins, leading to accumulation of these proteins in the nucleus and enhancing their anti-cancer activity in the cell. The forced nuclear retention of these proteins can counteract a multitude of the oncogenic pathways that, unchecked, allow cancer cells with severe DNA damage to continue to grow and divide in an unrestrained fashion.

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, 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 6 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.