On January 5, 2026 HUTCHMED (China) Limited ("HUTCHMED") (Nasdaq/AIM:HCM; HKEX:13) reported that it has initiated the Phase III part of the Phase II/III trial to evaluate the efficacy of the combination of surufatinib, camrelizumab, nab-paclitaxel and gemcitabine as a first-line treatment for patients with metastatic pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma ("PDAC") in China. The first patient received the first dose on December 30, 2025.
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PDAC is a highly aggressive form of cancer, representing over 90% of pancreatic cancer cases. Globally, an estimated 511,000 people were diagnosed with pancreatic cancer, leading to approximately 467,000 deaths in 2022, with an average five-year survival rate of less than 10%. In China, an estimated 119,000 people were diagnosed with pancreatic cancer, causing approximately 106,000 deaths in 2022.[1] Treatments such as chemotherapy, surgery and radiation are commonly employed, but have not shown significant improvement in patient outcomes. Under 20% of metastatic pancreatic cancer patients survive for more than a year.
The trial is a multicenter, randomized, open-label, active-controlled Phase II/III study to evaluate the efficacy and safety of surufatinib combined with camrelizumab, nab-paclitaxel and gemcitabine ("S+C+AG") versus nab-paclitaxel plus gemcitabine ("AG") in adults with metastatic pancreatic cancer who have not previously received systemic anti-tumor therapy. A total of 62 patients were enrolled in the Phase II part, with plans to enroll approximately 400 additional patients in the Phase III part. The primary endpoint for the Phase III part is overall survival (OS). Secondary endpoints include progression-free survival ("PFS"), objective response rate ("ORR"), duration of response (DoR), disease control rate ("DCR"), quality of life and safety. Professor Shukui Qin of China Pharmaceutical University Nanjing Tianyinshan Hospital and Professor Jihui Hao of Tianjin Medical University Cancer Institute and Hospital are the leading principal investigators of this study. Additional details may be found at clinicaltrials.gov, using identifier NCT06361888.
Results from the Phase II part were recently presented at the 2025 European Society for Medical Oncology (ESMO) (Free ESMO Whitepaper) Asia Congress.[3] As of the data cut-off of July 24, 2025, the median PFS follow-up duration was 8.15 months. The S+C+AG regimen demonstrated a median PFS of 7.20 months compared to 5.52 months for the AG arm (stratified hazard ratio [HR] 0.499, log-rank p=0.0407), representing a 50.1% reduction in the risk of progression or death. Consistent benefits were observed across other key efficacy endpoints, including ORR (67.7% vs 41.9%, p=0.0430) and DCR (93.5% vs 71.0%, p=0.0149). Although overall survival data were immature at the time of analysis, a favorable trend was observed (not reached vs 8.48 months, unstratified HR 0.555), with 9 events in the S+C+AG arm (N=31) and 15 events in the AG arm (N=31). The safety profile was manageable. Treatment-emergent adverse events (TEAEs) of grade 3 or above occurred in 80.6% of patients in the S+C+AG arm compared to 61.3% in the AG arm.
About Surufatinib
Surufatinib is a novel, oral angio-immuno kinase inhibitor that selectively inhibits the tyrosine kinase activity associated with vascular endothelial growth factor receptors (VEGFRs) and fibroblast growth factor receptor (FGFR), which both inhibit angiogenesis, and colony stimulating factor-1 receptor (CSF-1R), which regulates tumor-associated macrophages, promoting the body’s immune response against tumor cells. Surufatinib is marketed in China by HUTCHMED under the brand name SULANDA. HUTCHMED currently retains all rights to surufatinib worldwide.
About Camrelizumab
Camrelizumab (SHR-1210) is a humanized monoclonal antibody targeting the programmed death-1 (PD-1) receptor. Camrelizumab has been approved in China for multiple indications in areas such as lung cancer, liver cancer, esophageal cancer, nasopharyngeal cancer and cervical cancer. Camrelizumab is marketed in China by Hengrui Pharma under the brand name AiRuiKa.
(Press release, Hutchison China MediTech, JAN 5, 2026, View Source [SID1234661694])