China approves CSPC Pharma mRNA cancer therapy for clinical trials

By Andrew Silver

SHANGHAI (Reuters) – A cancer cell therapy from CSPC Pharmaceutical Group that uses synthetic messenger RNA (mRNA) technology has received regulatory clearance in China for human clinical trial, the Chinese drugmaker said late on Tuesday.

CSPC and several other Chinese drugmakers have researched synthetic mRNA to develop vaccines during the COVID-19 pandemic and have since continued testing new uses for the technology, including in cancer treatments.

“The clinical trial approval obtained for the product marks the first significant achievement of the Group in the field of cell therapy,” CSPC said in a stock exchange filing, referring to the approval by the China National Medical Products Administration.

CSPC’s therapy SYS6020 can target and kill myeloma cells with “minimal side effects”, it said. It also has potential to be used for the treatment of autoimmune diseases including systemic lupus erythematosus and myasthenia gravis, it added.

A spokesperson for CSPC did not immediately respond to Reuters questions about the technology used in SYS6020, which it described as the “world’s first mRNA-LNP-based cell therapy product approved for clinical trials”.

(Reporting by Andrew Silver; Editing by Miyoung Kim and Miral Fahmy)