NEW YORK – Dizal Pharmaceuticals is working with Anova Enterprises to speed up development of DZD9008 in patients with EGFR exon 20 insertion-mutated non-small cell lung cancer.
Shanghai-based Dizal Pharmaceuticals is studying the irreversible EGFR inhibitor DZD9008 as a first-line NSCLC treatment in a Phase III trial and for recurrent disease in a Phase II trial. In the studies, NSCLC patients must harbor EGFR exon 20 insertion mutations. Approximately 2 percent of NSCLC patients harbor such alterations in their tumors.
Anova, based in Arlington Heights, Illinois, aims to expedite drug development with its collaborative "learning system" platform, dubbed AnovaOS, which allows investigators to see the status of 130,000 active studies and connect with other researchers. Under the partnership announced Wednesday, Dizal will use Anova's AnovaOS platform to identify and enroll eligible NSCLC patients for the two DZD9008 clinical trials and activate study sites where patients are already receiving care.
In August, China's National Medical Products Administration approved sunvozertinib, another EGFR inhibitor developed by Dizal, for previously treated, advanced non-small cell lung cancer patients whose tumors harbor EGFR exon 20 insertion mutations.
In a statement, Anova President Martin Walsh said Anova and Dizal want to build on sunvozernitib's recent approval in China and continue to expand treatment opportunities for patients with EGFR exon 20 insertion-mutated NSCLC. "We are identifying the underserved group of NSCLC cases that have EGFR exon20ins mutations and giving them an opportunity to participate in research designed to benefit them," Walsh said.