Senhwa Biosciences announced on 2 February that it has signed a five-year collaboration agreement with the National Cancer Institute (NCI) of the US National Institutes of Health (NIH) to jointly advance clinical trials of the new drug Pidnarulex (CX-5461) in humans with unmet medical needs to date.

Develpoed by Senhwa, Pidnarulex has recently been selected for inclusion in the National Cancer Institute's NCI-NExT program at the US National Institutes of Health (NIH).

According to the company, approximately 70% of all anti-cancer drugs approved by FDA are co-developed with NIH programs, including international companies such as AZ (Olaparib), Pfizer (Talazoparib) and Merck & Co. (Keytruda).

In addition, those selected to participate in the programme will receive financial support and access to the NIH's network of over 3,000 health care facilities and tens of thousands of health care professionals across the United States, providing an integrated pool of resources in terms of talents and resources for clinical trials.

Senhwa Biosciences expects to increase response rates and multiply the efficacy of Pidnarulex with immunotherapy, as Keytruda, which has been approved for more than a dozen cancer treatments, will generate global revenues of US$17 billion in 2021 and grow year on year.