(Yicai Global) Oct. 11 -- Guangdong Zhongsheng Pharmaceutical Co. [SHE:002317] has received approval from the China Food and Drug Administration to conduct clinical trials on ZSP1603, an innovative drug for the treatment of pulmonary fibrosis and malignant tumors.

The drug was developed in collaboration with Wuxi AppTec Co. [SHA:1525017D:CH], a pharmaceutical company based in eastern China's Jiangsu province which is pending floatation on the Shanghai stock exchange.

Pulmonary fibrosis, which exhibits a similar anatomic distribution to tumors, has a high fatality rate, the company said. Only 15 percent to 20 percent of patients can expect to survive five years after diagnosis, with an average survival period of 2.8 years.

Only two drugs can help effectively treat patients with the disease, both of which were developed by European pharmaceutical giants. The global market for these drugs was worth USD907 million in 2015 and could grow to USD3.2 billion by 2025.

ZSP1603 is China's first medicine for the treatment of pulmonary fibrosis to receive approval for clinical trials, and can be used to help treat patients with tumors and those with fibrosis as well, Zhongsheng Pharmaceutical said.