Lenvatinib Reveals Mechanism to Overcome Anticancer Drug Resistance... "Reconfirms as Optimal Partner Drug for Combination Therapy"

[Asia Economy Reporter Hyunseok Yoo] HL Biopharma announced on the 14th that a paper demonstrating the oral (pill) anticancer drug rivoceranib (Chinese name Apatinib) not only inhibits angiogenesis for anticancer treatment but also effectively suppresses tumorigenesis and resistance was published in Cell Death Discovery, a sister journal of the world-renowned journal Nature.

Cell Death Discovery, a sister journal of Nature, published on the 12th the results of animal experiments using drug-resistant lung cancer cells conducted by Nanjing Medical University Affiliated Hospital in China. According to the paper, rivoceranib effectively blocks the β-catenin signaling, which is overexpressed in various cancer types and induces differentiation into cancer stem cells, thereby inhibiting the growth of cancer stem cells and reducing the expression of drug resistance genes.

Additionally, when drug efflux pumps (ABCB1, ABCC1, ABCG2) on the cancer cell membrane are activated, drugs do not function properly, reducing efficacy. Rivoceranib was found to inhibit the expression of these drug efflux pumps, suppressing the efflux of anticancer drugs from cancer cells and thereby enhancing drug efficacy.

The research team confirmed through this clinical study that rivoceranib not only inhibits angiogenesis but also suppresses the growth of cancer stem cells, demonstrating its anticancer effects. It was scientifically proven that rivoceranib is effective even in resistant cancers and can produce high synergy when combined with other anticancer drugs.

Dr. Ingeun Jang of HL Biopharma’s Bio Strategy Planning Team stated, "Rivoceranib not only has excellent anticancer efficacy on its own but also improves the tumor microenvironment during combination therapy, enhancing the efficacy of other anticancer drugs." He added, "This paper revealed that combining rivoceranib with immune checkpoint inhibitors and cytotoxic anticancer drugs, which face resistance issues, can further increase drug efficacy, raising expectations for HL Biopharma’s ongoing global combination clinical trials such as the Phase 3 first-line liver cancer trial, Phase 2 second-line gastric cancer trial, and Phase 2 third-line colorectal cancer trial."