Sichuan Kelun Pharmaceutical's subsidiary SKB118 has been approved for a new drug clinical trial application.

Sichuan Kelun Pharmaceutical (002422.SZ) announced recently that its controlling subsidiary Sichuan SKB BIO Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. (referred to as "Kelun Botai") has received a clinical trial notification letter from the National Medical Products Administration (NMPA) Drug Evaluation Center (CDE) for the investigational new drug application (IND) of SKB118, a dual-specificity antibody targeting programed cell death protein-1 (PD-1) and vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), for the treatment of advanced solid tumors. SKB118 is a tetra-specific antibody currently under development for the treatment of solid tumors. It combines the complementary and validated mechanisms of action in oncology - PD-1 and VEGF blockade, where inhibition of PD-1 checkpoint restores T cell recognition and destruction of tumor cells, and VEGF blockade reduces blood supply to tumor cells and inhibits tumor growth. In preclinical studies, SKB118 has shown synergistic pharmacological effects in enhancing PD-1 binding and signal blockade in the presence of VEGF, displaying strong anti-tumor activity. The anti-VEGF activity of SKB118 may also normalize blood vessels at the tumor site, potentially improving the enrichment and efficacy of combination therapies (such as with antibody-drug conjugates) in the local tumor microenvironment.