Approval in motion for new drug-resistant CML treatment

Suzhou-based domestic biopharmaceutical company Ascentage Pharma said ahead of International Chronic Myeloid Leukemia Day on Wednesday a new application for a drug-resistant CML treatment has been submitted in China.

The application was granted priority review status and a breakthrough therapy designation by the country's drug review authority, according to the company.

Medical experts said new CML cases amount to around 10,000 each year in the country, and 20 to 30 percent suffer from drug resistance or treatment failure.

"There is no therapy for drug-resistant CML patients in the domestic market so far. The new orally taken drug could be life-changing for such patients," said Jiang Qian, deputy director of the hematology department at Peking University People's Hospital in Beijing.

"We expect such innovative medicines can provide patients with the opportunity to survive, live better and receive treatment," she said.

Medical experts said there is one drug treating drug-resistant CML patients available in the global market.

Established in 2009, Ascentage is dedicated to developing novel therapies to satisfy patients' unmet medical needs for treatment of cancer, chronic hepatitis B, and age-related diseases with a global orientation.

The company said the new drug candidate to treat drug-resistant CML patients has been granted orphan drug and fast track designations by the United States Food and Drug Administration.

Jiang also called on different sectors of society to show better inclusion for CML patients and provide them with equal opportunities in receiving education and jobs.