Polaris Pharmaceuticals Inc. announced that it has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Vietnam National Cancer Hospital (K-Hospital) in Hanoi, Vietnam, to advance the enrollment of patients in a clinical trial for liver cancer in Vietnam. Polaris' liver cancer clinical trial is a precision therapy approach, in which patients will be screened for spermidine concentration or specific genes, and a total of 300 patients will be enrolled in Taiwan and Vietnam within two years.
The 29th signing ceremony took place between Polaris Pharmaceuticals, represented by Chairman Howard Chen, and Dr. Le, Van Quang, Director of Vietnam National Cancer Hospital, one of the most important cancer hospitals in Vietnam with a history of over 100 years, which treats about one tenth of the total number of cancer patients in Vietnam. According to WHO Cancer Today, in 2020 Vietnam will have the fifth highest incidence of liver cancer in Asia, with 26,000 patients a year.
According to Polaris Pharmaceuticals, the liver cancer clinical trial will be a precision therapy that will screen patients for spermidine concentrations or specific genes and will be administered as a single dose, i.e. placebo only, in the control group. Given the number of patients with liver cancer in Vietnam, and the fact that the number of patients in Vietnam is still limited to the standard of care and should be accelerated, this clinical trial will focus on Taiwan and Vietnam as the primary enrollment areas, with the goal of enrolling a total of 300 patients within two years.
The clinical trial is different from other clinical trials such as soft tissue sarcoma or brain cancer, where a combination of drugs is typically used, as Polaris points out that it is a single drug after a precise screening process. According to international market research firm Arizton research, the treatment market for liver cancer is estimated to reach US$7.3 billion by 2027 at a CAGR of 17.39% from US$2.8 billion in 2021.
