SHANGHAI, July 26, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Shanghai Junshi Biosciences Co., Ltd (Junshi Biosciences, HKEX: 1877; SSE: 688180), a leading innovation-driven biopharmaceutical company dedicated to the discovery, development, and commercialization of novel therapies, and its wholly-owned subsidiary TopAlliance Biosciences Inc. (TopAlliance Biosciences), announce that the Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use (CHMP) of the European Medicines Agency (EMA) has given a positive opinion for the marketing authorization application (MAA) for toripalimab (European trade name: LOQTORZI^®). The CHMP recommends approval for toripalimab for two indications:

• Toripalimab in combination with cisplatin and gemcitabine for the first-line treatment of adult patients with recurrent, not amenable to surgery or radiotherapy, or metastatic nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC);
• Toripalimab in combination with cisplatin and paclitaxel for the first-line treatment of adult patients with unresectable advanced, recurrent, or metastatic oesophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC).

The European Commission will take into account the CHMP’s positive opinion when making the final decision on the marketing application for toripalimab. The decision will be applicable to all 27 member states of the European Union, plus Iceland and Norway. If approved, toripalimab would become the first and only drug for the treatment of NPC and the only first-line treatment for advanced or metastatic ESCC regardless of PD-L1 status in Europe.

“As a leading innovative pharmaceutical company in China,” Dr. Jianjun ZOU, General Manager and CEO of Junshi Biosciences, said, “Junshi Biosciences is dedicated to addressing the clinical needs of local patients while offering novel therapies that provide survival benefits to patients globally. Currently, patients with NPC and ESCC in Europe receive limited clinical benefits from existing treatments. Toripalimab has the potential to improve their treatment options. The positive opinion from the CHMP brings us one step closer to this goal. We will continue communicating with local regulatory authorities so that our innovative therapy can benefit more European patients as soon as possible.”

“The CHMP’s positive opinion is based on the robust and clinically important benefits with the addition of toripalimab to first-line chemotherapy in patients with metastatic or recurrent NPC or ESCC, not amenable to local therapy,” Dr. Patricia Keegan, CMO of TopAlliance Biosciences, said. “Adding toripalimab to chemotherapy has shown significantly and meaningful improvements in overall survival in both tumor types. This positive opinion suggests that our innovative product, already launched in China and the United States, is likely to reach Europe as well.”

NPC is a malignant tumor that occurs in the epithelium of the nasopharynx and is one of the most common types of head and neck cancers globally. According to GLOBOCAN 2022 statistics, the number of newly diagnosed NPC cases in 2022 exceeded 120,000 worldwide. Due to the location of the primary tumor, surgery is rarely an option. The latest European Society for Medical Oncology (ESMO) Guidelines recommend immunotherapy combined with chemotherapy as the first-line treatment for recurrent or metastatic NPC.

The CHMP’s positive opinion on the NPC indications is primarily based on the results from JUPITER-02, a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, multinational, multi-center Phase III clinical study (NCT03581786). Notably, the results of the JUPITER-02 study were presented in an oral report during the Plenary Session of the 2021 annual meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) (#LBA2) and were subsequently featured on the cover of Nature Medicine. The results were also published in full in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA).

Esophageal Cancer (EC) is one of the most common malignant tumors in the digestive tract. According to GLOBOCAN 2022 statistics, EC was the 11th most commonly diagnosed cancer and the seventh leading cause of cancer death worldwide, with over 511,000 new cases and over 445,000 deaths in 2022. ESCC and esophageal adenocarcinoma are the two main histological subtypes of esophageal cancer. The ESMO Guidelines recommend PD-1 blocking antibodies combined with chemotherapy for the first-line treatment of patients with advanced or metastatic ESCC with PD-L1 positive status.

The CHMP’s positive opinion on the ESCC indications is primarily based on the results from JUPITER-06, a randomized, double-blinded, placebo-controlled, multi-center Phase III clinical study (NCT03829969), which were first presented in an oral session during the ESMO Congress 2021, and later published in Cancer Cell and Journal of Clinical Oncology, two leading international oncology journals.

About Toripalimab

Toripalimab is an anti-PD-1 monoclonal antibody developed for its ability to block PD-1 interactions with its ligands, PD-L1 and PD-L2, and for enhanced receptor internalization (endocytosis function). Blocking PD-1 interactions with PD-L1 and PD-L2 promotes the immune system’s ability to attack and kill tumor cells.

More than forty company-sponsored toripalimab clinical studies covering more than fifteen indications have been conducted globally by Junshi Biosciences, including in China, the United States, Southeast Asia, and Europe. Ongoing or completed pivotal clinical trials evaluating the safety and efficacy of toripalimab cover a broad range of tumor types, including cancers of the lung, nasopharynx, esophagus, stomach, bladder, breast, liver, kidney, and skin.

In the Chinese mainland, toripalimab was the first domestic anti-PD-1 monoclonal antibody approved for marketing (approved in China as TUOYI^®). Currently, there are ten approved indications for toripalimab in the Chinese mainland:

unresectable or metastatic melanoma after failure of standard systemic therapy;recurrent or metastatic nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) after failure of at least two lines of prior systemic therapy;locally advanced or metastatic urothelial carcinoma that failed platinum-containing chemotherapy or progressed within 12 months of neoadjuvant or adjuvant platinum-containing chemotherapy;in combination with cisplatin and gemcitabine as the first-line treatment for patients with locally recurrent or metastatic NPC;in combination with paclitaxel and cisplatin in first-line treatment of patients with unresectable locally advanced/recurrent or distant metastatic esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC);in combination with pemetrexed and platinum as the first-line treatment in EGFR mutation-negative and ALK mutation-negative, unresectable, locally advanced or metastatic non-squamous non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC);in combination with chemotherapy as perioperative treatment and subsequently with monotherapy as adjuvant therapy for the treatment of adult patients with resectable stage IIIA-IIIB NSCLC;in combination with axitinib for the first-line treatment of patients with medium to high risk unresectable or metastatic renal cell carcinoma (RCC);in combination with etoposide plus platinum for the first-line treatment of extensive-stage small cell lung cancer (ES-SCLC);in combination with paclitaxel for injection (albumin-bound) for the first-line treatment of recurrent or metastatic triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC).

The first six indications have been included in the National Reimbursement Drug List (NRDL) (2023 Edition). Toripalimab is the only anti-PD-1 monoclonal antibody included in the NRDL for the treatment of melanoma. In April 2024, the Drug Office at the Department of Health in the Government of the Hong Kong Special Administration Region (DO) accepted the NDA for toripalimab in combination with cisplatin and gemcitabine for the first-line treatment of adults with metastatic or recurrent locally advanced NPC, and for toripalimab, as a single agent, for the treatment of adults with recurrent, unresectable, or metastatic NPC with disease progression on or after platinum-containing chemotherapy.

In the United States, the US FDA has approved the Biologics License Application for toripalimab in combination with cisplatin and gemcitabine for the first-line treatment of adults with metastatic or recurrent locally advanced NPC, and for toripalimab, as a single agent, for the treatment of adults with recurrent, unresectable, or metastatic NPC with disease progression on or after platinum-containing chemotherapy in October 2023. The FDA has granted toripalimab 2 Breakthrough Therapy designations for the treatment of NPC, 1 Fast Track designation for the treatment of mucosal melanoma, and 5 Orphan Drug designations for the treatment of esophageal cancer, NPC, mucosal melanoma, soft tissue sarcoma, and small cell lung cancer (SCLC).

In Europe, marketing authorization applications (MAA) were accepted by the European Medicines Agency (EMA) and the MHRA for 1) toripalimab combined with cisplatin and gemcitabine for the first-line treatment of patients with locally recurrent or metastatic NPC and 2) toripalimab combined with paclitaxel and cisplatin for the first-line treatment of patients with unresectable locally advanced/recurrent or metastatic ESCC, in December 2022 and February 2023.

In Australia, the new chemical entity (NCE) application was accepted by the Australia Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) in November 2023. The TGA has also granted toripalimab an Orphan Drug designation for the treatment of NPC.

In Singapore, the NDA application was accepted by the Singapore Health Sciences Authority (HSA) in January 2024. The HSA has also granted priority review designation for the NDA.

About Junshi Biosciences

Founded in December 2012, Junshi Biosciences (HKEX: 1877; SSE: 688180) is an innovation-driven biopharmaceutical company dedicated to the discovery, development and commercialization of innovative therapeutics. The company has established a diversified R&D pipeline comprising over 50 drug candidates, with five therapeutic focus areas covering cancer, autoimmune, metabolic, neurological, and infectious diseases. Four of the company’s innovations have already reached the Chinese or international markets, one of which is toripalimab, China’s first domestically produced and independently developed anti-PD-1 monoclonal antibody, approved in China and the US. Additionally, more than 30 drugs are currently in clinical development. During the COVID-19 pandemic, Junshi Biosciences actively shouldered the social responsibilities of a Chinese pharmaceutical company through its involvement in developing etesevimab, MINDEWEI^®, and other novel therapies for the prevention and treatment of COVID-19.

With a mission of “providing patients with world-class, trustworthy, affordable, and innovative drugs”, Junshi Biosciences is “In China, For Global.” At present, the company boasts approximately 3,000 employees in the United States (San Francisco and Maryland) and China (Shanghai, Suzhou, Beijing, Guangzhou, etc.). For more information, please visit: http://junshipharma.com.

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