2019 Lenvatinib Launching Ceremony Jointly Held by Eisai China and MSD China

On January 12, 2019, Eisai China Holdings Ltd. and MSD China Holding Co., Ltd. jointly held the 2019 Lenvatinib Launching Ceremony (Trademark: Lenvima®) in China, the domestic and foreign experts and scholars in the tumor field gathered together and conducted academic discussions on many issues, and they witnessed the launching of Assistance Project of Liver Cancer Patients.

(Photo of 2019 Lenvatinib Launching Ceremony)

In October 2017, Eisai submitted New Drug Application for Lenvatinib in China, and was designated for Priority Review by the China National Medical Products Administration (NMPA) due to Lenvatinib’s significant clinical benefit compared to existing treatments. In September 2018, the NMPA approved the kinase inhibitor Lenvatinib as a single agent for the treatment of patients with unresectable hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) who have not received prior systemic therapy, and the patients were given medication on November 9, 2018. China is the country with the most liver cancer patients all over the world, the Lenvatinib into China becomes a new scheme for the first-line targeted therapy of hepatocellular carcinoma, and the Launching Ceremony represents that the systematic treatment of liver cancer in China enters a new era.

(Group Photo of the Guests)

According to the report, in order to improve the access to innovative drugs, relieve the financial burden of patients and make the patients to obtain the long-term effective treatment, China Primary Health Care Foundation and Eisai China Inc. launched the Assistance Project of Liver Cancer Patients in January 2019. The purpose of this Assistance Project is to relieve the economic burden of patients with financial difficulties in line with the public welfare principles of co-establishing implementation, co-solving social problems, and co-winning and sharing social achievements, through “co-payment by multi-parties”, i.e., co-payment mechanism of profit-reducing support by enterprises, charitable donation by foundations and appropriate bearing by patients, so as to promote the improvement of the medical insurance and serious illness assistance system in China and achieve social equity. With the Assistance Project received attentions from a large number of patients and doctors and pharmacies. Since the preparation and launching in November 2018, the number of the doctors, hospitals and pharmacies has been increasing, and it is expected that 1000 doctors, 400 hospitals and 40 pharmacies will participate in the implementation of the Assistance Project. At present, there have been more than 500 patients applying for the project, including 150 patients who have applied for and more than 350 patients who have made appointments.

(Photo of the scene)

Liver cancer is the fourth leading cause of cancer-related death in the whole world, and on the basis of the statistical data in 2018, there are about 782,000 people died due to this disease and about 841,000 newly-diagnosed patients around the world in this statistical year. China is a big country with many liver cancer patients, and 47% new patients in the whole world are from China. In China, there are about 393,000 new patients, and the number of the patients died is 369,000. ^[1]Hepatocellular carcinoma accounts for 85%~90% of the total population of liver cancer, the therapy of unresectable hepatocellular carcinoma is limited, therefore, new therapies are required to be developed.

Today, LENVIMA is approved as a treatment for refractory thyroid cancer in over 50 countries including the United States, Japan and Europe, and in combination with everolimus as a second-line treatment for renal cell carcinoma in over 45 countries, including in the United States and Europe. In addition to China, LENVIMA is approved for use in the treatment of HCC in Japan, the United States, Europe, and other countries in Asia and around the world.

The Chinese pharmaceutical market is the second largest market in the world after the United States and in 2017 was worth US$122.2 billion and growing at a rate of 4% on a local currency basis, maintaining growth. ^[2]Eisai considers China as a key region for driving its global business following after Japan and the United States, and with the launch of Lenvatinib in China, seeks to contribute further to increasing the benefits provided to cancer patients and their families.

¹ GLOBOCAN2018: Estimated Cancer Incidence, Mortality and Prevalence Worldwide in 2018. http://globocan.iarc.fr/

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