CASI's ENMD-2076 gets FDA Orphan Drug designation for HCC treatment

Jul 7 2014

CASI Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (Nasdaq: CASI), a clinical-stage pharmaceutical company developing therapeutics for the treatment of cancer and other diseases, announced today that its orally-active, Aurora A/angiogenic kinase inhibitor, ENMD-2076, has received Orphan Drug designation from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for the treatment of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC).

Orphan Drug designation is granted by the FDA Office of Orphan Products Development, which evaluates scientific and clinical data submissions from sponsors to identify and designate products as promising for rare diseases and to further advance scientific development of such promising medical products. Orphan Drug designation is granted to therapeutics treating rare diseases affecting less than 200,000 people in the U.S. The designation entitles the sponsor to seven years of market exclusivity as well as opportunities for additional funding and expert protocol assistance.

Dr. Ken Ren, Chief Executive Officer of CASI, commented, "We are pleased with the Orphan Drug designation as it confirms our belief in the versatility of ENMD-2076 as a promising treatment for HCC, and for other tumor types that we are currently evaluating in the clinic. Orphan drug status also enhances the commercial value of ENMD-2076 to treat HCC, a disease which is difficult to treat. We are finalizing our next steps for ENMD-2076 in HCC and/or in fibrolamellar carcinoma, a subset of HCC and for which there is no treatment available and look forward to advancing our overall development plan for ENMD-2076."

SOURCE CASI Pharmaceuticals, Inc.