Guerbet Signs Agreement With Kyuan for Promotion and Distribution of Lipiodol Ultra-Fluid in China
VILLEPINTE, France, October 29, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- Guerbet (GBT) announced today the signing of an agreement with Beijing Kyuan Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd., one of the major pharmaceutical drugs distributors & importers in the Chinese market, to distribute and commercialize Lipiodol Ultra-Fluid as from September 2015.
Founded in 1995, Kyuan is part of the Shanghai Pharma group (SPH) - China's second biggest pharmaceutical distribution group - since 2011.
This agreement enables Guerbet flagship Interventional Radiology agent to benefit from Kyuan's outstanding experience in distributing pharmaceuticals in the hospital market.
Marie-Claire Taine, Guerbet Group Commercial VP, commented: "We are looking forward to open new horizons in interventional oncology via this agreement with Kyuan, one of the country's top drug distributors & one of themost reputed pharmaceutical partners throughout China, as we are determined to facilitate access for Chinese practitioners to the cTACE procedure which is standard-of-care across the world in interventional radiology."
A registration application has been filed in China in April 2015 for the use of Lipiodol Ultra-Fluid in conventional trans-arterial chemoembolization (cTACE) of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), the most common liver cancer. TACE is recommended for Child-Pugh A/B HCC patients by the Chinese Guidelines on the diagnosis and treatment of primary liver cancer.1
Liver cancer is the second most lethal cancer in the world & accounts for 746,000 deaths every year according to the WHO.2 HCC accounts for 90% of primary liver cancer cases and is particularly frequent in China due to the prevalence of viral hepatitis.
Lipiodol is already registered in China in its two conventional indications, lymphography and the treatment of iodine deficiency.
About cTACE
Conventional transarterial chemo-embolization (cTACE) is a minimally invasive procedure which consists of mixing Lipiodol Ultra-Fluid with an anticancer drug and injecting this treatment trans-arterially in the liver as a loco-regional targeted chemotherapy, in which Lipiodol Ultra-Fluid acts as a contrast agent, a drug eluting vehicle and a dual arterio-portal transient embolic.3
About Lipiodol Ultra-Fluid
Lipiodol Ultra-Fluid (ethyl esters of iodized fatty acids of poppy-seed oil) was initially developed for diagnostic radiology in indications including liver lesion diagnosis, lymphography and hysterosalpingography, and then used in interventional radiology for conventional transarterial chemo-embolization (cTACE) procedures of multinodular hepatocellular carcinoma, where Lipiodol Ultra-Fluid was used as a procedure visualizer (contrast agent), a drug eluting vehicle (drug carrier), and a dual arterio-portal transient embolic. The approved indications for Lipiodol Ultra-Fluid may vary according to countries. Please refer to local SmPC for further information.
References
1. HCC treatment Chinese Guidelines 2011 - Chin Clin Oncol 2012;1:10
2. WHO-Globocan 2012-IARC-Section of Cancer Surveillance 9/7/2014
3 Kan et al., Seminars in Interventional Radiology 2008; 25 (2): 7785.
