Biostar Pharma announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has granted Orphan Drug Designation to Utidelone for the treatment of pancreatic cancer, representing the third such designation for the company's lead oncology asset. The FDA previously granted orphan drug status to Utidelone for breast cancer brain metastases and gastric cancer.
Clinical Promise in Aggressive Disease
Pancreatic cancer represents one of the most challenging malignancies in oncology, earning the designation "king of cancers" due to its aggressive nature and poor prognosis. The disease carries a five-year survival rate of only approximately 10%, the lowest among all malignant tumors. Current treatment options remain limited, with gemcitabine-based combination regimens serving as the primary clinical approach, though treatment outcomes are often unsatisfactory due to the high tendency of pancreatic cancer cells to develop resistance.
Phase II Trial Results Show Activity
Biostar presented preliminary results from a multicenter, single-arm Phase II clinical study at the 2024 CSCO Annual Meeting, evaluating Utidelone combined with gemcitabine as first-line treatment for unresectable advanced pancreatic cancer. The study enrolled 20 patients with advanced pancreatic cancer that was unresectable and ineligible for local treatment, with 11 patients completing their first efficacy evaluation.
Among the evaluable patients, three achieved partial response and five achieved stable disease, resulting in an objective response rate of 27.27% and a disease control rate of 72.72%. The median overall survival reached 9.57 months.
Preclinical Data Supports Combination Approach
Preclinical studies demonstrated that Utidelone significantly inhibits the proliferation and colony-forming ability of pancreatic cancer cells while exhibiting strong anti-tumor activity in pancreatic cancer models. When combined with gemcitabine, Utidelone markedly reduces the IC50 value of gemcitabine without compromising its anti-tumor effect. The combination demonstrates stronger anti-tumor activity compared with the traditional paclitaxel plus gemcitabine regimen.
Unique Mechanism and Advantages
Utidelone is a new-generation genetically engineered microtubule inhibitor with a mechanism of action similar to taxanes but offering multiple advantages. These include better anti-tumor activity, broader anti-tumor spectrum, better safety profile with very low hematologic toxicity, effectiveness against multidrug-resistant tumors, reduced propensity for developing drug resistance, capability of crossing the blood-brain barrier, and high oral bioavailability.
Biostar has developed two formulations of Utidelone: injection (UTD1) and capsule (UTD2). UTD1 received approval in China in 2021 for treating metastatic breast cancer in patients who have progressed after at least one anthracycline- or taxane-containing chemotherapy regimen. Phase III study data showed that UTD1 plus capecitabine achieved both progression-free survival and overall survival benefits versus capecitabine alone for heavily pretreated metastatic breast cancer patients.
Regulatory Advantages
The Orphan Drug Designation provides Biostar with several regulatory and commercial incentives, including tax relief on clinical trial costs, opportunities to apply for grants supporting clinical trials, waiver of new drug application fees, accelerated regulatory pathways, and the potential for seven years of marketing exclusivity in the U.S. market upon product approval.
Orphan drug status applies to treatments for rare diseases affecting fewer than 200,000 patients in the United States. The designation aims to encourage pharmaceutical companies to develop treatments for rare diseases despite challenges including patient recruitment difficulties, small market size, and potentially lower returns on investment.
