San Diego, CA, USA – August 27, 2015 –HUYA Bioscience International (HUYA) today announced the sponsorship of the second annual meeting of the Japan Society of HTLV-1, held this week at the University of Tokyo Medical Science Institute Auditorium.
The purpose of the Society is to promote research on HTLV-1 and HTLV-1-associated diseases, as well as the development of medical technology and research related to these fields to advance science, the national health and welfare.
“HUYA is proud to support this prestigious conference,” said Mireille Gillings, Ph.D., CEO of HUYA. “We are actively developing our novel oral HDAC inhibitor with immunomodulatory properties, HBI-8000, for lymphomas in Japan, including Adult T-cell Lymphoma/Leukemia (ATL), which is caused by HTLV-1 infection.”
“I have been delighted to help HUYA over the years define the development path for HBI-8000 as a promising therapy for lymphomas in Japan,” said Toshiki Watanabe, M.D., Ph.D., the President of the Japan Society of HTLV-1, and Professor and Chairman, Department of Computational Biology and Medical Sciences, Graduate School of Frontier Sciences, the University of Tokyo.
HBI-8000 is currently in a Phase 1 clinical trial in Japan in patients with non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, including ATL patients, following the acceptance by the Pharmaceutical and Medical Devices Agency (PMDA) of HUYA’s accelerated development strategy in Japan. The initiation of clinical trials of HBI-8000 in Japan followed the recent approval of the drug by the Chinese Food and Drug Administration for relapsed or refractory peripheral T-cell lymphoma; in China, the drug is marketed as Epidaza by Shenzhen Chipscreen Biosciences. The clinical development of HBI-8000 in Japan leverages clinical data from Chinese clinical trials through the Tripartite Cooperation on Health between China, South Korea and Japan.
About Lymphoma and HTLV-1
Lymphoma is the most common blood cancer. The two main forms of lymphomas are Hodgkin’s lymphoma and non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma (NHL). Lymphoma occurs when cells of the immune system called lymphocytes, a type of white blood cell, grow and multiply uncontrollably. There are approximately 138,000 cases and 53,000 non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma (NHL) deaths per year in the United States and Europe. NHL is the seventh most commonly diagnosed cancer in both men and women in the United States. The lowest NHL rates are found in eastern and south central Asia (2 to 3 per 100,000 population). Peripheral T-cell lymphoma (PTCL) consists of a group of rare and usually aggressive NHLs that develop from mature T-cells. Most T-cell lymphomas are PTCLs, which collectively account for about 10 to 15 percent of all NHL cases in the U.S. In Japan, the rate of PTCL is estimated at 2-3 patients/100,000 population. The most common form of T-cell lymphoma in Japan is Adult T-cell Lymphoma/Leukemia (ATL) caused by HTLV-1 infections. ATL accounts for about 30 percent of all T-cell lymphomas in Japan. ATL is a disease of high unmet medical need in Japan where it is responsible for approximately 1,000 deaths per year. HTLV-1, the virus that causes ATL, has a high prevalence in Japan with more than 1 million people infected. Worldwide, HTLV-1 infects an estimated 10 million or more, and is endemic in countries including the Caribbean islands and certain regions of Africa, Central and South America and the Middle East.
About HBI-8000
HBI-8000 is a member of the benzamide class of histone deacetylase (HDAC) inhibitors designed to block the catalytic pocket of Class I HDACs. HBI-8000 is an orally bioavailable, low-nanomolar inhibitor of cancer-associated HDAC enzymes with favorable pharmacology and safety profiles. HBI-8000 inhibits cancer-associated Class I HDAC1, HDAC2, HDAC3, as well as Class IIb HDAC10 at nanomolar concentrations and stimulates accumulation of acetylated histones H3 and H4 in tumor cells. Studies with human-derived tumor cell lines have demonstrated that HBI-8000 inhibits the growth of many tumor cell lines via multiple mechanisms of action, including epigenetic regulation of tumor cell growth and apoptosis, immunomodulatory effects such as activation of NK- and CD8 T-cell-mediated antitumor activity, as well as repression of genes associated with drug resistance. To date, HBI-8000 has been dosed in various types of hematological and solid tumors in several clinical trials, including a Phase 1 trial completed in the United States.
About HUYA Bioscience International
HUYA Bioscience International is a leader in enabling and accelerating the global development of novel biopharmaceutical product opportunities originating in China. HUYA has established extensive collaborations with Chinese biopharmaceutical, academic and commercial organizations to speed development and value creation in worldwide markets for China-sourced product candidates. With the largest Chinese compound portfolio covering all therapeutic areas, HUYA has emerged as the partner-of- choice for building and maximizing the value of biopharmaceutical innovation in China. HUYA has offices in the U.S., Japan and eight strategic locations across China, with joint headquarters in San Diego and Shanghai. With the largest team of scientists working with Chinese innovators, HUYA identifies and advances promising drug candidates globally. Earlier this year, HUYA was named the winner of a Stevie® Award in the Health Products & Services and Pharmaceuticals category in the Asia-Pacific Stevie Awards. www.huyabio.com
Contact details:
Yiota Merianos
HUYA Corporate Communications
+1.858.353.1217
ymerianos@huyabio.com