Photocure Partner Asieris awarded "Annual Star of Innovation" with Hexvix at the 5th Annual Lunjian Awards 2024
Oslo, Norway, January 22, 2025: Photocure ASA (OSE: PHO), the Bladder Cancer Company, announces that its partner Asieris Pharmaceuticals (SSE: 688176) has communicated today that it received an "Annual Star of Innovation" at the 5th Annual Lunjian Awards 2024.
The awards focus on “emerging products and forces within the healthcare industry, the list aims to collectively uphold the upward momentum in the face of uncertain market conditions.” Asieris has secured a spot on the awardee list with the innovative bladder cancer diagnostic Hexvix® combined with blue light cystoscopy. In China, Hexvix stands as the only domestically approved imaging agent used for diagnosing or operating on bladder cancer (including in situ carcinoma), filling a crucial gap in the domestic market.
Read Asieris’ full media release here: https://asieris.com/asieris-awarded-annual-star-of-innovation-at-the-5th-annual-lunjian-awards-2024/
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About Bladder Cancer
Bladder cancer ranks as the 8th most common cancer worldwide – the 5th most common in men – with 1 949 000 prevalent cases (5-year prevalence rate)1a, 614 000 new cases and more than 220 000 deaths in 2022.1b
Approx. 75% of all bladder cancer cases occur in men.1 It has a high recurrence rate with up to 61% in year one and up to 78% over five years.2 Bladder cancer has the highest lifetime treatment costs per patient of all cancers.3
Bladder cancer is a costly, potentially progressive disease for which patients have to undergo multiple cystoscopies due to the high risk of recurrence. There is an urgent need to improve both the diagnosis and the management of bladder cancer for the benefit of patients and healthcare systems alike.
Bladder cancer is classified into two types, non-muscle invasive bladder cancer (NMIBC) and muscle-invasive bladder cancer (MIBC), depending on the depth of invasion in the bladder wall. NMIBC remains in the inner layer of cells lining the bladder. These cancers are the most common (75%) of all BC cases and include the subtypes Ta, carcinoma in situ (CIS) and T1 lesions. In MIBC the cancer has grown into deeper layers of the bladder wall. These cancers, including subtypes T2, T3 and T4, are more likely to spread and are harder to treat.4
1 Globocan. a) 5-year prevalence / b) incidence/mortality by population. Available at: https://gco.iarc.fr/today, accessed [February 2024].
2 Babjuk M, et al. Eur Urol. 2019; 76(5): 639-657
3 Sievert KD et al. World J Urol 2009;27:295–300
4 Bladder Cancer. American Cancer Society. https://www.cancer.org/cancer/bladder-cancer.html
About Hexvix®/Cysview® (hexaminolevulinate HCl)
Hexvix/Cysview is a drug that preferentially accumulates in cancer cells in the bladder, making them glow bright pink during Blue Light Cystoscopy (BLC®). BLC with Hexvix/Cysview, compared to standard white light cystoscopy alone, improves the detection of tumors and leads to more complete resection, fewer residual tumors, and better management decisions.
Cysview is the tradename in the U.S. and Canada, Hexvix is the tradename in all other markets. Photocure is commercializing Cysview/Hexvix directly in the U.S. and Europe and has strategic partnerships for the commercialization of Hexvix/Cysview in China, Chile, Australia, New Zealand and Israel. Please refer to https://photocure.com/partners/our-partners for further information on our commercial partners.
About Asieris & Hexvix in China
Asieris Pharmaceuticals is a global biopharma company specializing in discovering, developing and commercializing innovative drugs for the treatment of genitourinary tumors and other related diseases.
In January 2021, Asieris entered into a license agreement with Photocure ASA to obtain the exclusive registration and commercialization rights of Hexvix in mainland China and Taiwan.
In December 2021, 2021, Hexvix obtained initial clinical use in the Boao Lecheng International Medical Tourism Pilot Zone in Hainan Province, when the first patient received blue light cystoscopy with Hexvix at the Hainan General Hospital. The clinical trial obtained approval from the NMPA in the first quarter of 2022 and Hexvix was subsequently included in the real-world clinical data pilot program. In November 2024, Asieris obtained Marketing Approval by the National Medical Products Administration for Hexvix in China.
Richard Wolf’s System Blue, which has potential to be the first blue-light-enabled cystoscope approved in China, is currently under regulatory review by the NMPA. This Richard Wolf PDD device was used in the phase III clinical trial to develop Hexvix in China and the commercialization of Hexvix is dependent on the regulatory approval in the local market.
About Photocure ASA
Photocure: The Bladder Cancer Company delivers transformative solutions to improve the lives of bladder cancer patients. Our unique technology, making cancer cells glow bright pink, has led to better health outcomes for patients worldwide. Photocure is headquartered in Oslo, Norway and listed on the Oslo Stock Exchange (OSE: PHO). For more information, please visit us at www.photocure.com, www.hexvix.com, www.cysview.com