(Yicai Global) May 19 -- Shares in Innovent Biologics jumped 5.23 percent yesterday after the Chinese drugmaker announced that the US Food and Drug Administration has begun a formal appraisal of its PD-1 immune anti-cancer drug, the first time one of its medicines has reached this stage in the US.

Suzhou, eastern Jiangsu province-based Innovent’s stock price [HKG:1801] finished at HKD91.6 (USD11.80) apiece yesterday. The Hong Kong bourse is closed for trading today.

Sintilimab, an innovative PD-1 inhibitor that can help in the treatment of cancers, was co-developed by Innovent and US pharma giant Eli Lilly. Indiana-based Eli Lilly has the exclusive license to promote the drug outside of China including in North America and Europe.

The drug has already been approved in China to treat Hodgkin’s lymphoma, a cancer of the lymphatic system, and in December 2018 became the first PD-1 inhibitor medicine to be included in the National Medical Insurance Scheme’s drug list, which ensures vast distribution across China.

In February, Sintilimab was also sanctioned in China for the treatment of non-squamous non-small cell lung cancer in combination with pemetrexed and platinum drugs.

Nearly 1.8 million people die each year from lung cancer. Around 85 percent of lung cancer cases are non-small cell lung cancer and half of these patients are already in the terminal stage when diagnosed.

Three other applications at the National Medical Products Administration of China are still pending.

Editor: Kim Taylor