InnoCare Pharma Bags Chinese nod to begin clinical trial of BCL2 inhibitor

InnoCare Pharma, a top biopharmaceutical company specializing in cancer and autoimmune disease treatments, declared the approval of the Investigational New Drug (IND) to carry out a clinical trial of ICP-248, a B-cell lymphoma-2 (BCL2) inhibitor, in conjunction with azacitidine for acute myeloid leukaemia (AML) in China.

Acute myeloid leukaemia (AML) is a cancerous blood disease that starts from stem/progenitor cells in the blood and accounts for approximately 80% of cases of acute leukaemia in adults. The likelihood of AML development rises with age and is more prevalent in individuals of middle age and older age. AML is not rare in people under 18 years, making up around 15-20% of childhood leukemia and 80% of leukemia in newborns and babies.

BCL2 plays a crucial role in controlling apoptosis pathway, and its atypical expression is linked to the onset of different hematologic cancers. ICP-248 is a new BCL2-selective inhibitor that can be taken orally. Its anti-cancer properties come from specifically blocking BCL2 and reversing the process of programmed cell death.

Dr. Jasmine Cui, the co-founder, chairwoman and CEO of InnoCare, said, "With strong pipeline in haemato-oncology, InnoCare is dedicated to developing therapeutics with diverse mechanisms of action (MoA) to achieve comprehensive coverage of blood tumour indications. ICP-248 is an important global asset of our company in the field of haematology. We will accelerate clinical development and look forward to bringing greater benefits to patients with haematological malignancies early."