Hengrui's Camrelizumab Combo Therapy Doubles the Five -Year Survival of Patients with Advanced Squamous Lung Cancer - A Potential Paradigm Shift in Clinical Outcome for this Difficult-to Treat Population

PARIS, April 1, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- At the European Lung Cancer Congress 2025 (ELCC) (Paris, France, March 26 to 29), Hengrui Pharmaceuticals presented the 5-year long-term follow-up data from the CameL-sq study-a randomized, double-blind, multicenter, phase III trial that evaluated the efficacy and safety of camrelizumab vs. placebo in combination with carboplatin and paclitaxel as first-line treatment of advanced squamous non-small cell lung cancer (sq-NSCLC) with negative driver genes. The results show that the 5-year overall survival (OS) rate for patients treated with camrelizumab plus chemotherapy was 27.8%, indicating that more than one-quarter of the patients survived beyond five years., and a 15.3% improvement over the placebo-chemotherapy group (12.5%). Additionally, camrelizumab significantly reduced the risk of mortality by 43%, enabling more patients to achieve long-term survival.

The five-year survival rate serves as a critical indicator for assessing potential clinical cure in oncology. China's Healthy China 2030 initiative has established an ambitious target to increase the overall five-year survival rate for cancer patients by 15%. Epidemiologic data from the National Cancer Center consistently identify lung cancer as the malignancy with the highest incidence and mortality rates across both genders. However, early symptoms of lung cancer are frequently overlooked, resulting in most patients being diagnosed at an advanced stage. In the era dominated by traditional chemotherapy, the five-year survival rate for patients with advanced lung cancer was below 10%. Among histologic subtypes, squamous NSCLC presents unique challenges as it does not benefit from targeted therapies, leading to relatively poor survival outcomes. With the advent of immunotherapy drugs, the prognosis for squamous NSCLC has significantly improved; however, numerous unmet clinical needs remain.

Camrelizumab is a humanized IgG4 monoclonal antibody independently developed by Hengrui Pharmaceuticals. With high binding affinity to PD-1, it has been shown to significantly improve the overall survival of patients with various solid tumors, including lung cancer, liver cancer, esophageal cancer, and nasopharyngeal cancer. At the 2024 ELCC, the long-term follow-up data from the CameL study were presented, highlighting the efficacy of camrelizumab in combination with chemotherapy as a first-line treatment for advanced non-squamous non-small cell lung cancer. The findings revealed that approximately one-third of the patients achieved a survival duration exceeding five years.

The significant clinical benefits of camrelizumab plus chemotherapy as demonstrated by the CameL-sq study ( an increase of 15.3% in the five year survival rate compared to the control group), represent a meaningful advancement toward the goals outlined in the Healthy China 2030 blueprint for cancer prevention and control. This breakthrough represents another significant contribution from Hengrui Pharmaceuticals, a leading innovator in China's pharmaceutical sector, to prolong and improve the lives of cancer patients worldwide.

SOURCE Hengrui Pharmaceuticals