On November 3, 2019, Hansoh Pharma held the National Launch Meeting of Fosaprepitant Dimeglumine for Injection (trade name: Tanneng), China’s first injection-type neurokinin 1 (NK-1) receptor antagonist drug for preventing vomiting arising from chemotherapy, and over 200 experts and physicians from the relevant fields around the country attended this meeting for sharing and discussion around the hot topics such as the development and current situation of tumor supportive care and the diagnosis and treatment standard of chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting (CINV), to facilitate the standardized management of CINV in China.
Tanneng is now China’s first and only NK-1 receptor antagonist for injection that is regarded as having passed the consistency evaluation, used for preventing acute and delayed nausea and vomiting occurring during initial and repeated treatment with highly emetic chemotherapy (HEC) drugs. Professor Zhang Li from the Affiliated Tumor Hospital of Sun Yat-sen University gave warm congratulations to the successful launch of Tanneng in his speech. He pointed out that, the original product of Fosaprepitant has not yet been launched in China and there are highly unmet medical needs concerning CINV among cancer patients in China. As the first Fosaprepitant in China, the launch of Tanneng will fill the market gap in this field, provide a powerful weapon for clinicians to prevent vomiting arising from chemotherapy, and help chemotherapy patients to feel at ease in treatment.
CINV is one of the most common adverse reactions that patients fear most in clinical practice. According to statistics, without antiemetic prophylaxis, 70%-80% patients accepting chemotherapy will suffer from CINV. According to Professor Wang Jiejun from the Changzheng Hospital Affiliated to the Second Military Medical University, with progress and improvement in the medical level, many symptoms such as nausea and vomiting that tumor patients experience would be under control, and the standardized use of drugs to prevent or reduce the occurrence of vomiting has become an important part of supportive treatment for tumor patients.
According to Professor Luo Suxia from Henan Tumor Hospital, domestic antiemetic drugs are mainly 5-HT3 receptor antagonist acting on the peripheral path, which, despite their good antiemetic effects, still need to be used in combination with NK-1 receptor antagonist acting on the central path to control nausea and vomiting arising from highly emetic chemotherapy drugs. Fosaprepitant, as a NK-1 receptor blocking agent, is able to inhibit the root cause of CINV at the central level. It is among first-line recommended drugs for the prevention of nausea and vomiting arising from highly antineoplastic chemotherapy drugs in authoritative guidelines at home and abroad, and will provide new treatment options for domestic clinicians to prevent chemotherapy-induced vomiting.
At the meeting, experts highly affirmed the effectiveness, safety and convenience of the home-made Fosaprepitant. The result of the Tanneng Phase III clinical study presented by Professor Zhang Shucai from Beijing Chest Hospital, Capital Medical University showed that, Tanneng has good curative effect and safety. Meanwhile, Tanneng overcomes the limitation that the existing NK-1 drugs in China can only be taken orally, and can be used in patients with coma, intestinal obstruction, severe vomiting, inability to swallow, and other digestive disorders; it does not require dose adjustment in special populations, and can be safely used by women, the old as well as patients with hepatic and renal insufficiency, so as to more comprehensively meet the antiemetic needs of clinical patients.
Reportedly, Hansoh Pharma is an important domestic enterprise engaged in research, development and manufacturing of anti-tumor drugs, and has set up rich production lines in the anti-tumor field. According to the relevant principal, the company will continue to develop more safe, highly efficacious and clinically needed drugs to help improve the survival rate and cancer treatment efficiency of tumor patients in China, and will continuously explore the ways to improve the life and health of patients.
