Chinese pharmaceutical company Kexing Biopharm (SHA:688136) announced on Wednesday that China's National Medical Products Administration (NMPA) has approved the Investigational New Drug (IND) application for its independently developed innovative product, GB18.

It comes shortly after the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved the IND application for GB18.

GB18 is an innovative biologic product developed for the treatment of cancer cachexia, a complication with a prevalence up to 40-70% among cancer patients. Currently, no specific biological therapies are available to address the condition, presenting vast market potential.

Last October, a research article of GB18's preclinical study was published in international academic journal mAbs. The study demonstrated that GB18 effectively alleviated weight loss in cancer cachexia models, demonstrating superior weight recovery and improved muscle fibres in both quantity and size compared to the comparator.