Benzinga·2026-01-07 14:17Core Insights - HUTCHMED (China) Limited announced positive data from the Phase 3 registration part of the ESLIM-02 clinical trial for sovleplenib in adult patients with warm antibody autoimmune hemolytic anemia (wAIHA) [1][4] Clinical Trial Results - The ESLIM-02 trial met its primary endpoint of durable hemoglobin response rate between weeks 5 to 24 of treatment [2] - The overall response rate was 43.8% in the first 8 weeks and 66.7% during the 24 weeks of treatment, compared to 0% in the placebo group [4] - The study included patients who had relapsed or were refractory to at least one prior line of standard treatment [3] Disease Prevalence and Impact - The incidence of autoimmune hemolytic anemia (AIHA) is estimated at 0.8-3.0 per 100,000 adults annually, with a prevalence of 17 per 100,000 adults and a death rate of 8-11% [2] - wAIHA accounts for approximately 75-80% of all adult AIHA cases [2] Regulatory Plans - HUTCHMED plans to submit a New Drug Application for sovleplenib for wAIHA to the China National Medical Products Administration (NMPA) in the first half of 2026 [4] Competitive Landscape - Novartis AG reported results from the VAYHIT2 Phase 3 trial showing that ianalumab plus eltrombopag had a median time to treatment failure 2.8 times longer than placebo plus eltrombopag [6] - CRISPR Therapeutics AG initiated a Phase 1 trial of its allogeneic CAR T therapy in ITP and wAIHA [6] Other Developments - HUTCHMED initiated the Phase 3 part of a trial for a combination treatment for metastatic pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma [7] - HUTCHMED shares increased by 5.09% to $14.45 during premarket trading [7]