ASLAN Pharmaceuticals a clinical-stage oncology and immunology focused biopharma company, on 27 August 2019, announced that a late-breaking abstract detailing results from a phase 2 study of varlitinib in patients with advanced or metastatic biliary tract cancer in China has been accepted for oral presentation at the upcoming 2019 Chinese Society of Clinical Oncology (CSCO) in Xiamen, China on 19 September 2019.

Dr Carl Firth, Chief Executive Officer of ASLAN Pharmaceuticals, said: “Our study of varlitinib is the largest clinical trial conducted to date on biliary tract cancer patients in China and we are pleased to see the data we have generated welcomed as an important insight into the treatment of BTC by a prestigious academic group like CSCO.”

The abstract titled: “JADETREE*: A phase 2A, single-arm, multicenter, study of the panHER inhibitor varlitinib plus capecitabine in Chinese patients with advanced or metastatic biliary tract cancer (BTC)”, will be presented in an oral session by Dr Weijia Fang, Associated Chief Physician, M.D., Department of Medical Oncology, Zhejiang University.

Varlitinib is a highly potent pan-HER inhibitor that targets the human epidermal growth factor receptors HER1, HER2 and HER4. At CSCO, new data will be presented from ASLAN’s phase 2A, single-arm, multicenter study of varlitinib plus capecitabine in unselected Chinese patients with second-line BTC.  Patients with advanced or metastatic BTC who failed on prior first-line gemcitabine containing regimens were given varlitinib (300 mg twice daily in a 21-day cycle) pluscapecitabine (1,000mg/m² twice daily for 2 weeks followed by a 7-day rest period).