Yuhan Corporation Holds 1st Anniversary Ceremony for the Launch of 'Reclaza'

On the 1st, Cho Wook-je, CEO of Yuhan Corporation, is speaking at the 1st anniversary ceremony of the launch of Yuhan's non-small cell lung cancer treatment 'Leclaza'.

[Asia Economy Reporter Chunhee Lee] Yuhan Corporation's non-small cell lung cancer treatment 'Leclaza' (generic name 'Lazertinib') has marked its first anniversary since launch.

Yuhan Corporation announced on the 4th that it held a commemorative ceremony for employees on the 1st to celebrate the first anniversary of Leclaza's launch. Through this ceremony, Yuhan employees reviewed the process from Leclaza's development to launch and the achievements accumulated over the past year, and discussed the direction to advance as a global innovative treatment in the future.

Jo Wook-je, CEO of Yuhan Corporation, said, "It is a meaningful moment to celebrate the first anniversary of Leclaza's launch," adding, "Many employees worked hard for the successful launch process. I would like to take this opportunity to express my gratitude." He continued, "In line with the noble corporate philosophy of the late Dr. Yuil, which is to improve the health of the people, let us continue our company-wide efforts to provide treatment benefits to patients suffering from non-small cell lung cancer," emphasizing, "Leclaza is an innovative product that will be the first step toward a global blockbuster new drug on the eve of Yuhan's 100th anniversary."

Leclaza is an oral third-generation EGFR tyrosine kinase inhibitor (TKI) with high selectivity for the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) T790M resistance mutation. In January 2021, it received approval from the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety for the treatment of patients with EGFR T790M mutation-positive locally advanced or metastatic non-small cell lung cancer who had previously been treated with EGFR-TKI. Subsequently, in July of the same year, it was launched with insurance coverage as a second-line treatment for patients with T790M mutation-positive locally advanced or metastatic disease. Within one year of insurance coverage, it has been prescribed after passing the drug committees (DC) of over 80 medical institutions.

Leclaza was licensed to Yuhan Corporation in July 2015 from Genosco, a subsidiary of Oscotec. Since then, Yuhan Corporation enhanced Leclaza's value through compound optimization, process development, and preclinical and clinical trials, and in November 2018, licensed the technology to Janssen (a Johnson & Johnson subsidiary), a global big pharma company.

Currently, a multinational Phase 3 clinical trial (LASER301) evaluating the efficacy and safety of first-line treatment for EGFR mutation-positive non-small cell lung cancer patients is underway, with top-line results expected to be released by the end of this year.