Takeda China announced that ADCETRIS (brentuximab vedotin) has been officially approved by China’s National Medical Products Administration (NMPA) for use in adult patients with relapsed or refractory systemic Anaplastic Large Cell Lymphoma (sALCL) or CD30-positive Hodgkin Lymphoma.
“We expect that brentuximab vedotin will provide a better treatment option for CD30-positive lymphoma in China,” said Professor Zhu Jun, Director of the Lymphoma Department at Beijing Cancer Hospital and Principal Investigator of the ADCETRIS registration study in China. “Both sALCL and classical Hodgkin lymphoma are subtypes of lymphoma that express CD30. For decades, treatment options for patients in China with relapsed or refractory lymphoma have been very limited. Patients’ overall survival rates are low, and their quality of life is also negatively affected.”
Lymphoma is a type of malignant tumor that originates in the lymphohematopoietic system. It’s the collective name of more than 70 subtypes in the lymphoma family. It is one of the ten most malignant cancers in China with the highest mortality rates. Data shows that each year in China, approximately 93,000 people are diagnosed with lymphoma, and more than 50,000 people die from it. Currently there are very limited therapies available for treating patients with relapsed or refractory lymphoma in China.
“ADCETRIS was granted priority review by the Center for Drug Evaluation in June 2019 and has now been officially approved by the NMPA. This ‘fast-track’ approval process demonstrates the Chinese government’s determination to accelerate the introduction of highly innovative drugs to China’s patients. We are thankful for their accelerated approval and the hope it gives to patients with relapsed or refractory lymphoma,” said Sean Shan, President of Takeda China. “As Takeda aims to put the patient at the center of everything we do, we are committed to leveraging our global R&D capabilities and local operations to accelerate the pace at which we bring innovative drugs to address the unmet needs of patients in China and support the government’s ‘Healthy China 2030’ initiative.”