Exhibit 99.1
Press Release
HUTCHMED to Receive Milestone Payment from Takeda following First European Reimbursement for FRUZAQLA® (fruquintinib)
— US$10 million milestone payment to HUTCHMED follows first national reimbursement in Europe —
— Follows June 2024 European approval of FRUZAQLA® (fruquintinib), the first novel oral targeted therapy in the EU for metastatic colorectal cancer regardless of biomarker status in over a decade —
Hong Kong, Shanghai & Florham Park, NJ — Friday, December 13, 2024: HUTCHMED (China) Limited (“HUTCHMED”) (Nasdaq/AIM:HCM; HKEX:13) today announces that it will receive a US$10 million milestone payment by its partner Takeda (TSE:4502/NYSE:TAK). Takeda received a national reimbursement recommendation for FRUZAQLA® (fruquintinib) for patients with previously treated metastatic colorectal cancer (“CRC”) in Spain in December 2024, the first national reimbursement recommendation in Europe. CRC is the second most common cause of cancer-related deaths in Europe.
FRUZAQLA® was approved by the European Commission (“EC”) of the European Union (“EU”) in June 2024. Takeda has the exclusive worldwide license to further develop, commercialize and manufacture fruquintinib outside of mainland China, Hong Kong and Macau.
“We are delighted for both our partner, Takeda, and patients in Spain who will now be able to receive reimbursement for this innovative treatment. This is an important step forward in improving patient access across Europe more broadly,” said Dr Weiguo Su, Chief Executive Officer and Chief Scientific Officer of HUTCHMED. “It also underscores our ongoing collaboration with Takeda and reinforces our shared commitment to addressing the needs of patients with metastatic colorectal cancer.”
The approvals by the EC were primarily based on results from the Phase III multiregional FRESCO-2 trial. Data from FRESCO-2 were published in The Lancet in June 2023. FRUZAQLA® was approved in the US in November 2023, in the EU in June 2024, in Switzerland in August 2024, in Canada, Japan and the United Kingdom in September 2024 and in Argentina, Australia and Singapore in October 2024. Regulatory applications are progressing in many other jurisdictions.
About CRC
CRC is a cancer that starts in either the colon or rectum. According to the International Agency for Research on Cancer/World Health Organization, CRC is the third most prevalent cancer worldwide, associated with more than 1.9 million new cases and 900,000 deaths in 2022. In Europe, CRC was the second most common cancer in 2022, with approximately 538,000 new cases and 248,000 deaths. 1,2 In the US, it is estimated that 153,000 patients will be diagnosed with CRC and 53,000 deaths from the disease will occur in 2024. 3 In Japan, CRC was the most common cancer, with an estimated 146,000 new cases and 60,000 deaths, in 2022.2 Although early-stage CRC can be surgically resected, metastatic CRC remains an area of high unmet need with poor outcomes and limited treatment options. Some patients with metastatic CRC may benefit from personalized therapeutic strategies based on molecular characteristics; however, most patients have tumors that do not harbor actionable mutations. 4,5,6,7,8
About Fruquintinib
Fruquintinib is a selective oral inhibitor of all three VEGF receptors (VEGFR-1, -2 and -3). VEGFR inhibitors play a pivotal role in inhibiting tumor angiogenesis. Fruquintinib was designed to have enhanced selectivity that limits off-target kinase activity, allowing for drug exposure that achieves sustained target inhibition and flexibility for potential use as part of a combination therapy.