(Yicai) Sept. 2 -- Hengrui Pharmaceuticals, China's most valuable publicly listed drugmaker, said the country has approved its innovative hematological cancer treatment, while regulators accepted its marketing application for an innovative weight management drug.

Hengrui's self-developed Class 1 innovative cancer drug Zemetostat has received Chinese regulators' conditional approval, making it China's first enhancer of zeste homolog 2 inhibitor, the Liangyungang-based company announced late yesterday.

Zemetostat is a high-efficiency EZH2 inhibitor indicated for the treatment of adult patients with relapsed or refractory peripheral T-cell lymphoma. Hengrui has invested around CNY213 million (USD29.9 million) in relevant research and development projects.

There are only two other EZH2 inhibitors that have recieved regulatory approval so far at the global stage. The US Food and Drug Administration approved Tazverik, an EZH2 inhibitor developed by Massachusetts-based Epizyme, in January 2020, which has also received a green light in a pilot medical zone in China's Hainan province through regional agent Hutchmed. Ezharmia, an EZH1/2 inhibitor developed by Tokyo-based Daiichi Sankyo, was approved in Japan in September 2022.

In addition, the marketing authorization application for HRS9531 injection, an innovative drug used for weight control in overweight patients developed by Hengrui's subsidiary Shengdi Pharmaceutical, was recently accepted by the National Medical Products Administration, the parent company noted.

HRS9531 is mainly used for weight management and treating certain conditions caused by overweight patients. Hengrui has invested about CNY452.4 million in relevant R&D projects.

The main active ingredient of HRS9531 can regulate glucose and lipid metabolism, suppress appetite, and enhance insulin sensitivity in the body, improving blood glucose levels and reducing weight, Hengrui said, adding that the only drug with a similar mechanism worldwide is Eli Lilly's Zepbound, which has been approved in the United States and China.

Hengrui, which previously relied mainly on generic drug sales, has been actively promoting its innovative drug R&D in recent years, with revenue from its innovative drug sales and licensing agreements reaching CNY9.6 billion (USD1.3 billion) in the six months ended June 30, accounting for 61 percent of its total income, with sales topping CNY7.6 billion, according to its financial report.

Shares of Hengrui [SHA: 600276] climbed 0.6 percent to CNY68.76 (USD9.64) apiece as of lunch break in Shanghai, after earlier jumping by as much as 3.5 percent. The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index was down 0.79 percent. 

Editor: Martin Kadiev