InnoCare Pharma (HKEX: 09969; SSE: 688428), a leading biopharmaceutical company focusing on the treatment of cancer and autoimmune diseases and ArriVent Biopharma, a clinical stage company dedicated to accelerating the global development of innovative biopharmaceutical therapeutics,  announced a clinical development collaboration to evaluate the combination of InnoCare’s novel SHP2 (Src Homology 2 domain containing protein tyrosine phosphatase) allosteric inhibitor, ICP-189, with ArriVent’s furmonertinib, a highly brain-penetrant, broadly active mutation-selective EGFR (epidermal growth factor receptor) inhibitor.

Under the agreement, InnoCare and ArriVent will jointly conduct a clinical study to evaluate the anti-tumor activity and safety of ICP-189 combined with furmonertinib in patients with advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC).

Furmonertinib is being advanced by ArriVent in global studies in patients with advanced or metastatic NSCLC with EGFR or HER2 mutations, including exon 20 insertion mutations. It is approved in China as a first-line treatment for adults with locally advanced or metastatic NSCLC with EGFR exon 19 deletion (19DEL) or exon 21 (L858R) substitution mutations, where it is being further developed for additional indications with Allist Pharmaceuticals who discovered furmonertinib.

ICP-189 is a potent and selective oral allosteric inhibitor of SHP2, developed by InnoCare for the treatment of solid tumors as a single agent and/or in combination with other antitumor agents. In a dose escalation study, ICP-189 demonstrated favorable PK, long half-life and safety and tolerability.

Dr. Jasmine Cui, Co-founder, Chairwoman and CEO of InnoCare, said: “NSCLC is the major subtype of lung cancer with huge unmet medical needs. We are glad to work with ArriVent to push forward the combination study and expect this innovative therapy to benefit global patients early.”

“We are excited to announce this clinical development collaboration with InnoCare,” said Bing Yao, Ph.D., Chairman, Co-founder and Chief Executive Officer of ArriVent. “Combining furmonertinib with ICP-189 represents the growing opportunity for our furmonertinib clinical development program, in addition to ongoing studies in the monotherapy setting. If successful in clinical trials and approved, the combination of furmonertinib with SHP2 inhibitors could be another potential treatment option to help improve the lives of people living with advanced or metastatic lung cancer.”

NSCLC is the predominant subtype of lung cancer, accounting for approximately 85% of all cases.