Shenzhen Chipscreen Biosciences announced that the company's lead innovative product Chidamide (Epidaza®) , an oral subtype-selective histone deacetylase (HDAC) inhibitor, combined with R-CHOP (rituximab, cyclophosphamide, doxorubicin, vincristine, and prednisone), has been officially approved by the National Medical Products Administration (NMPA) for treatment of previously untreated diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) with positive MYC and BCL2 expression. Up to now, Chidamide has been approved for multiple indications globally.

Diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) is the most common type of lymphoma, with approximately 30000 new cases occurring annually in China. Clinical diagnosis and treatment guidelines and consensus both domestically and internationally recommend the R-CHOP regimen as the standard first-line treatment for DLBCL. However, about one-third or more of patients in the overall population still experience ineffective or early recurrence of first-line R-CHOP treatment. Meanwhile, approximately 30% of patients with DLBCL exhibit simultaneous overexpression of MYC/BCL2 protein (referred to as "double expression" lymphoma, DEL), and their efficacy and prognosis after R-CHOP treatment are significantly lower than those of non double expression patients. Therefore, how to combine new drugs based on R-CHOP regimen to provide a more effective and safer treatment to our patients is a significant unmet medical need.

The approval of this new indication is based on a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, multicenter Phase III clinical trial DEB trial (NCT04231448). The DEB trial is the first Phase III registered clinical study in the world as first line treatment of MYC/BCL2 dual expression diffuse large B-cell lymphoma. This trial is to evaluate the efficacy and safety of Chidamide combined with R-CHOP compared to R-CHOP in primary treatment and MYC/BCL2 dual expression DLBCL subjects. Based on the interim analysis conducted by the Independent Data Monitoring Committee (iDMC), the efficacy and safety indicators set by the protocol were achieved. Compared with the R-CHOP regimen, the Chidamide combination regimen significantly improved the complete response rate (CRR) of the study's key secondary endpoint, and the study's primary endpoint, event free survival (EFS), also showed a clear trend of benefit. The experimental safety profile is consistent with known risks, and no new significant safety signals were found. The results of the interim analysis of the DEB Phase III study were selected as the Late breaking Abstract (LBA) for the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) Annual Meeting on April 24, 2024.

Dr. Xianping Lu, Chairman and General Manager of Chipscreen Biosciences, stated, "The classic R-CHOP regimen has been used as a first-line treatment for diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) for nearly 20 years, but its therapeutic effect is not satisfactory in populations with dual expression of BCL2 and MYC proteins. The combination of Chidamide and R-CHOP is the world's first phase 3 registered clinical study that focuses on first line therapy of dual expressed DLBCL, and also the world's first R-CHOP improvement study with significant benefits in complete remission rate. We believe that the approval of the new indication will bring new hope and better survival benefits to patients."