R-Pharm Advances Three Cancer Drugs Through Clinical Development, Including Novel Antiandrogen for Prostate Cancer
核心洞察
R-Pharm (搜索) is developing three oncology drugs with two biosimilars of pertuzumab and cetuximab completing Phase III trials and expected for registration in 2026.
The company's original drug RS-113, a next-generation antiandrogen, demonstrated efficacy comparable to abiraterone in Phase II trials for metastatic prostate cancer (搜索).
R-Pharm (搜索) has brought over 30 oncology drugs to market and plans to register 15 more molecules within two years as part of its innovation development strategy.
Russian pharmaceutical company R-Pharm (搜索) presented promising results for three cancer drugs at the XXIX Russian Oncological Congress, marking significant progress in the company's oncology pipeline. Two biosimilar monoclonal antibodies have completed Phase III trials, while an original antiandrogen shows comparable efficacy to standard therapy in metastatic prostate cancer (搜索).
Biosimilar Monoclonal Antibodies Near Market Entry
R-Pharm (搜索)'s biosimilars of pertuzumab and cetuximab are in the final stage of clinical development, with registration expected in 2026. Both drugs completed Phase III clinical trials and "demonstrated efficacy not inferior to the original molecules and comparable safety profiles," according to the company.
Pertuzumab, a monoclonal antibody for HER2-positive breast cancer (搜索) treatment, targets one of the most aggressive forms of the disease. "Pertuzumab is included in the most effective treatment regimen for HER2 (搜索)-positive metastatic breast cancer, allowing for increased life expectancy in this challenging patient group," noted Tatiana Dergacheva, Director of the Medical Support Department for Oncology Products at R-Pharm (搜索).
Cetuximab, also a monoclonal antibody, is used in treating head and neck tumors (搜索) among other indications. The company emphasized that the emergence of these biosimilars will enhance accessibility of advanced therapeutic combinations for Russian healthcare.
Novel Antiandrogen Shows Promise in Prostate Cancer
R-Pharm (搜索)'s original drug RS-113, a next-generation antiandrogen, is undergoing Phase II clinical trials for metastatic prostate cancer (搜索) treatment. Based on six months of trial results, RS-113 confirmed efficacy comparable to abiraterone, the standard therapy for this cancer type. The drug also shows a tendency towards a more favorable safety profile compared to existing treatments.
Expanding Innovation Pipeline
R-Pharm (搜索) has brought more than 30 oncology drugs to market and has over 15 molecules in final development stages planned for registration within the next two years. The company's portfolio foundation consists of reproduced chemical and biological drugs, including biosimilars of monoclonal antibodies not yet available on the Russian market.
The company is implementing an innovation development strategy beginning in 2026. "A new era in the company's history will begin in 2026 — we have adopted an innovation development strategy. By expanding research capabilities to develop promising molecules and following global trends, we will contribute to saturating the market for anti-tumor therapy with advanced, effective drugs," said Olga Filon, Director of Science and Research at R-Pharm (搜索).
Advanced Technology Platforms in Development
R-Pharm (搜索) operates a technological platform for developing monoclonal antibodies and is finalizing setup of a platform for creating bispecific antibodies. In 2026, the company will begin creating a platform for developing antibody-toxin conjugates. Six original anti-tumor molecules are currently in early development stages.
The company is also exploring drug repurposing, investigating registered drugs olokizumab and goflikicept to combat immune system-related adverse events in CAR-T therapy. These drugs block inflammatory molecules interleukin-6 and interleukin-1 (搜索), respectively.
"CAR-T therapy is highly effective for certain oncohematological diseases, but there is a risk of life-threatening adverse events, such as CRS — cytokine release syndrome (搜索). If we can increase the safety of the therapy, we will be able to save more lives," Filon explained.
A clinical trial of CAR-T therapy is currently being conducted in collaboration with the National Medical Research Center for Hematology (搜索), utilizing olokizumab to manage cytokine release syndrome (搜索). The XXIX Russian Oncological Congress, where these results were presented, took place in Moscow from December 11-13, 2025, with over 20,000 attendees participating in person and online.