Biopharmaceutical company Innovent Biologics Inc (HKEX:01801) and Hutchison China MediTech Limited (Chi-Med) (AIM/Nasdaq:HCM) said on Wednesday that they will expand their global collaboration to evaluate the safety and efficacy of Innovent's Tyvyt (sintilimab injection) in combination with Chi-Med's surufatinib in patients with advanced solid tumours.

This builds on their existing global collaboration agreement on sintilimab in combination with Chi-Med's highly selective vascular endothelial growth factor receptor (VEGFR) inhibitor, fruquintinib.

Clinical studies with this new combination will be conducted both in the US and in China.

Tyvyt is a type of immunoglobulin G4 monoclonal antibody which binds to PD-1 molecules on the surface of T-cells, blocks the PD-1/ PD-1 Ligand-1 (PD-L1) pathway and reactivates T-cells to kill cancer cells.

Surufatinib is a novel, oral drug candidate that selectively inhibits the tyrosine kinase activity associated with VEGFR and fibroblast growth factor receptor (FGFR), which both inhibit angiogenesis, as well as CSF-1R, which regulates tumor-associated macrophages, promoting the body's immune response against tumour cells.