Multinational Pharmaceutical Company Based in Basel, Switzerland to Supply PD-1 Inhibitor Tislelizumab
Aiming to Start Clinical Trials for Solid Tumors by Year-End…”Expecting New Treatment Options”
On the 7th, SillaJen announced that it signed a clinical drug support agreement with BeiGene, a global pharmaceutical company headquartered in Basel, Switzerland. Under this agreement, BeiGene will provide SillaJen with the PD-1 inhibitor Tislelizumab, and clinical trials will be conducted in the United States and Korea for combination therapy with ‘BAL0891’, which is under development for treating solid tumors.
‘BAL0891’ is a mitotic checkpoint inhibitor (MCI) introduced by SillaJen from the Swiss company Basilea. It is a first-in-class drug currently undergoing Phase 1 trials to evaluate its safety and maximum tolerated dose in solid tumor patients, with additional studies planned for acute myeloid leukemia (AML) patients.
Tislelizumab, developed by BeiGene, is a monoclonal antibody with high affinity and binding specificity to PD-1, designed to minimize binding to macrophage receptors, enabling immune cells to effectively detect and attack cancer cells. It is approved and sold in numerous countries, including the United States, Europe, and Korea.
Through this agreement, the BAL0891-Tislelizumab combination trial focuses on determining the optimal dosage of the two drugs and evaluating their safety in solid tumors. The companies expect to offer new treatment options for patients with limited therapies, including those with triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) and gastric cancer (GC), based on the trial results.
Kim Jae-kyung, CEO of SillaJen, expressed great anticipation for the collaboration with BeiGene, stating, “If the synergy of the two drug combinations is demonstrated, it will become an important treatment option in the field of solid cancer treatment.”
BeiGene is a NASDAQ-listed company operating research and manufacturing facilities in Cambridge and New Jersey, USA, as well as in Europe and Asia. In 2022, it established BeiGene Korea and entered the domestic market. Both companies plan to expedite regulatory approval processes and aim to start the clinical trial within the year.