Sequencio, a new Hong Kong unit of CK Life Sciences, is advancing about 20 cancer vaccine projects via China's faster pathway to human trials. CK Life Sciences vice-president and chief scientific officer Dr Melvin Toh Kean-meng said the firm plans investigator-initiated trials next year.
Sequencio Therapeutics, the new Hong Kong unit of Li Ka-shing's CK Life Sciences, is advancing about 20 cancer vaccine projects. The company sees China's regulatory pathway as a faster route to human trials.
"We are planning to run investigator-initiated trials [IITs], hopefully, in the next year," CK Life Sciences' vice-president and chief scientific officer Dr Melvin Toh Kean-meng said in a recent interview.
In China, IITs allow drug makers to generate human clinical data faster than the conventional regulatory process, which typically takes one and a half to two years before a single patient can be dosed, Toh said.
"The earlier you get in and the faster your drug is approved, the faster you can generate revenue," he said. "First to market always has an advantage."
