A medical worker checks related cancer drug information. Zhang Yu
Two cancer drugs, entrectinib and lorlatinib, have been introduced to Shenzhen through the “Hong Kong and Macao Medicine and Equipment Connect” policy and will soon be put into clinical use at the University of Hong Kong-Shenzhen Hospital (HKU-SZH).
The hospital announced the arrival of the two medications yesterday and said the two cancer drugs, which were previously unavailable on the Chinese mainland, are expected to provide alternative therapies for cancer patients.
Entrectnib, approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in August 2019, is used to treat patients with solid tumors that have a neurotrophic tyrosine receptor kinase (NTRK) gene fusion without a drug-resistance mutation in certain TRK proteins, and non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) that is ROS1 positive.
Lorlatinib is a prescription medication used to treat NSCLC that is caused by an abnormal anaplastic lymphoma kinase (ALK) gene. It is a third-generation ALK inhibitor approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.
“Entrectnib is a representative drug for precise tumor treatment, and the introduction of lorlatinib will bring new hope to some cancer patients,” said Anne Lee, chief of services for the Center of Clinical Oncology at HKU-SZH.
According to the hospital, the introduction of these two cancer drugs marked the third batch of medicine and medical devices that are made available at the hospital under the policy, following the use of blood disease drug Rho(D) immune globulin and a magnetically controlled growing titanium rod for scoliosis treatment.
As of Sunday, HKU-SZH had administered 165 doses of Rho(D) immune globulin to 149 patients and three patients have benefited from the magnetically controlled growing titanium rod.
HKU-SZH, the policy’s testing ground, disclosed that a total of nine medicines and two medical devices have currently been approved for introduction to the mainland under the “Hong Kong and Macao Medicine and Equipment Connect” policy.