Cancer
Cancer is a life-threatening disease and the leading cause of death today. Every year, 2 million cancer patients are diagnosed in China; and 1.4 million new patients are diagnosed in the US. According to the WHO, there are 25 million cancer patients worldwide, and more than 6 million patients die from cancer each year. While there have been significant advances in treating cancer, it is still widely recognized as a leading area of unmet medical needs.
Hutchison MediPharma currently has clinical programs underway to study our leading oncology candidate, a radio/chemo-sensitizer in multiple types of cancers, including non-small cell lung cancer and head and neck cancer. Our discovery research is focused on specific oncological targets with a full panel of in vitro and in vivo assays. Multiple compounds are being pursued at different preclinical/discovery stages.
Autoimmune Diseases
Autoimmune diseases, mainly rheumatoid arthritis, inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), lupus, and psoriasis, are caused by the dysfunction of the immune system in which the body attacks its own organs, cells, and tissues. These disorders afflict millions of patients, an estimated 5-8% of the world population. Most autoimmune diseases disproportionately affect women, and they are among the 10 leading causes of death for women in every age group up to 64 years old.
Hutchison MediPharma’s leading candidate in autoimmune targets IBD. It is now in Phase II clinical trials in the US to treat Crohn’s disease. We have multiple preclinical/discovery candidates against the targets along the inflammation pathway.
