Hutchmed China to make several presentations at cancer research meeting

The AIM-traded firm said one of the highlights would be the initial preclinical data on HMPL-506, a novel and highly potent menin-MLL inhibitor developed for treating certain types of acute leukaemia.

Notably, HMPL-506 showed stronger inhibitory potency in MLL-rearranged and NPM1 mutant leukaemia cell line models compared to five other menin inhibitors in clinical development.

Additionally, when combined with azacytidine, venetoclax, or gilteritinib, HMPL-506 synergistically improved the anti-tumour effect against MLL-rearranged leukemias, both in vitro and in vivo.

The company said the investigational drug candidate showed favourable pharmacokinetic profiles, high selectivity, and a low risk of cardiac toxicity.

It said plans were underway for a phase one study of HMPL-506 in the second half of 2024.

Another significant presentation would feature initial preclinical data on HMPL-A067 (HMA800067), a novel CD38-targeting antibody-drug conjugate (ADC) where daratumumab was conjugated with cytotoxic payload monomethyl auristatin E (MMAE) via a novel linker.

The ADC demonstrated significant superior anti-tumor activity to daratumumab, Hutchmed explained, including in several B-cell malignancies models resistant to daratumumab treatment.

Additional presentations would cover preclinical data on the ERK 1/2 inhibitor, HMPL-295; early clinical data on the Syk inhibitor, sovleplenib, in lymphoma patients; as well as further clinical data from global studies of VEGFR inhibitor, fruquintinib, and MET inhibitor, savolitinib.

Various investigator-initiated studies on fruquintinib and VEGFR/CSF-1R/FGFR inhibitor, surufatinib, would also be presented, the company added.

At 1208 BST, shares in Hutchmed China were down 2.24% at 261.01p.

Reporting by Josh White for Sharecast.com.