Kelun-Biotech Announces Three Clinical Study Results Selected for Oral Presentations at 2026 ASCO Annual Meeting

CHENGDU, China, April 22, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- The 2026 American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) Annual Meeting will be held in Chicago from May 29 to June 2. In this meeting, Sichuan Kelun-Biotech Biopharmaceutical Co., Ltd. (6990.HK) will present results from three clinical studies, including data from its TROP2 ADC sacituzumab tirumotecan (sac-TMT, 佳泰莱^®), next-generation selective RET inhibitor lunbotinib fumarate (A400/EP0031, 宁泰莱^®[1]) and novel ADC SKB500. The abstracts for these studies will be published on the ASCO official website on May 21, 2026, local time.

Detailed information on the studies selected for 2026 ASCO is as follows:

Title: Sacituzumab tirumotecan (sac-TMT) plus pembrolizumab (P) versus pembrolizumab (P) as first-line treatment for PD-L1-positive advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC): Results from the randomized, controlled phase III OptiTROP-Lung05 study
Presentation Type: Oral
Abstract Number: 8506
Session Date and Time: May 29, 3:12 PM-3:24 PM CDT | Lung Cancer-Non-Small Cell Metastatic

Title: Efficacy and safety of lunbotinib (A400/EP0031), a next-generation selective RET inhibitor (SRI), from a pivotal phase Ⅱ study in patients with advanced RET fusion-positive non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC)
Presentation Type: Oral
Abstract Number: 8505
Session Date and Time: May 29, 2:36 PM-2:48 PM CDT | Lung Cancer-Non-Small Cell Metastatic

Title: An open-label, first-in-human study of SKB500 in patients with locally advanced or metastatic solid tumors
Presentation Type: Rapid oral
Abstract Number: 3011
Session Date and Time: June 2, 9:57 AM-10:03 AM CDT | Molecularly Targeted Agents and Tumor Biology

About sac-TMT

Sac-TMT, a core product of the Company, is a novel human TROP2 ADC in which the Company has proprietary intellectual property rights, targeting advanced solid tumors such as NSCLC, breast cancer (BC), gastric cancer (GC), gynecological tumors and genitourinary tumors, among others. Sac-TMT is developed with a unique, bifunctional linker that maximizes payload delivery to tumor cells both through its irreversible connection with the anti-TROP2 monoclonal antibody sacituzumab and its pH-sensitive cleavage from a belotecan-derivative topoisomerase I inhibitor payload in the lysosome, with a drug-to-antibody-ratio (DAR) of 7.4. Sac-TMT specifically recognizes TROP2 on the surface of tumor cells by recombinant anti-TROP2 humanized monoclonal antibodies, which is then endocytosed by tumor cells and releases the payload KL610023 intracellularly. KL610023, as a topoisomerase I inhibitor, induces DNA damage to tumor cells, which in turn leads to cell-cycle arrest and apoptosis. In addition, it also releases KL610023 in the tumor microenvironment. Given that KL610023 is membrane permeable, it can enable a bystander effect, or in other words kill adjacent tumor cells.

In May 2022, the Company licensed the exclusive rights to MSD (the tradename of Merck & Co., Inc, Rahway, NJ, USA) to develop, use, manufacture and commercialize sac-TMT in all territories outside of Greater China (which includes Mainland China, Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan).

To date, four indications for sac-TMT have been approved and marketed in China for: 1) unresectable locally advanced or metastatic TNBC who have received at least two prior systemic therapies (at least one of them for advanced or metastatic setting);2) EGFR mutant-positive locally advanced or metastatic non-squamous NSCLC following progression on EGFR-TKI therapy and platinum-based chemotherapy; 3) EGFR mutant-positive locally advanced or metastatic non-squamous NSCLC who progressed after treatment with EGFR-TKI therapy; 4) unresectable or metastatic HR+/HER2- (IHC 0, IHC 1+ or IHC 2+/ISH-) BC who have received prior ET and at least one line of chemotherapy in advanced setting. The first two indications above have been included in China's National Reimbursement Drug List (NRDL). This inclusion is expected to bring clinically meaningful benefits to a greater number of patients with BC and NSCLC. Additionally, sac-TMT has been granted six Breakthrough Therapy Designations (BTDs) by the NMPA.

Sac-TMT is the world's first TROP2 ADC drug approved for marketing in lung cancer. As of today, Kelun-Biotech has initiated 9 registrational clinical studies in China. MSD is evaluating 17 ongoing global Phase III clinical studies of sac-TMT as a monotherapy or in combination with pembrolizumab or other anti-cancer agents for several types of cancer. These studies are sponsored and led by MSD.

About A400/EP0031

A400/EP0031 novel next-generation selective RET inhibitor for NSCLC, medullary thyroid cancer (MTC) and other solid tumors with a high prevalence of RET alterations. The NDA of A400/EP0031 has been accepted for review by the Center for Drug Evaluation (CDE) of the National Medical Products Administration (NMPA) of China for the treatment of adult patients with RET-fusion positive locally advanced or metastatic NSCLC. The Company is also conducting a Phase Ib/II clinical study in China for the treatment of RET-positive solid tumors.

In March 2021, the Company granted Ellipses Pharma Limited, a U.K.-based international oncology drug development company, an exclusive license to develop, manufacture and commercialize this agent outside Greater China and certain Asian countries. In April 2024, A400/EP0031 was cleared by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to progress into a Phase II clinical trial (NCT05443126) which is currently recruiting in the United States, United Kingdom, Europe and United Arab Emirates, where it is being evaluated as a monotherapy and in combination with chemotherapy in RET fusion positive NSCLC.

About SKB500

SKB500, a novel, proprietary ADC developed via the OptiDC™ platform, is designed to leverage specific target biology through a validated target combined with a differentiated payload-linker strategy. In preclinical investigations, SKB500 demonstrated a favorable therapeutic window with robust efficacy and manageable safety profiles across multiple advanced solid tumors.

Currently, a Phase II exploratory study of SKB500 in combination with immunotherapy with or without chemotherapy as first-line treatment for extensive-stage small cell lung cancer (ES-SCLC) is ongoing in China.

About Kelun-Biotech

Kelun-Biotech (6990.HK) is a holding subsidiary of Kelun Pharmaceutical, which focuses on the R&D, manufacturing, commercialization and global collaboration of innovative biological drugs and small molecule drugs. Kelun-Biotech focuses on major disease areas such as solid tumors, autoimmune, and metabolic diseases, and in establishing a globalized drug development and industrialization platform to address the unmet medical needs in China and the rest of world. Kelun-Biotech is committed to becoming a leading global enterprise in the field of innovative drugs. At present, Kelun-Biotech has more than 30 ongoing key innovative drug projects, of which 4 projects have been approved for marketing, 1 project is in the NDA stage and more than 10 projects are in the clinical stage. Kelun-Biotech has established one of the world's leading proprietary ADC and novel DC platforms, OptiDC™, and has 2 ADC projects approved for marketing, and multiple ADC and novel DC assets in clinical or preclinical research stage. For more information, please visit https://en.kelun-biotech.com/.

SOURCE Kelun-Biotech