CORXEL Pharmaceuticals, a portfolio company of RTW Biotech Opportunities (RTW), has had a new drug application accepted by China’s National Medical Products Administration (NMPA). The application acceptance is for the use of Aficamten for the treatment of obstructive hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM). RTW describes Aficamten as “an investigational, next-in-class selective small molecule cardiac myosin inhibitor”. The drug received Breakthrough Therapy Designation for the treatment of symptomatic obstructive HCM from the US Food & Drug Administration (FDA) as well as the NMPA. HCM is a genetic heart disease in which the heart muscle becomes abnormally thick and ultimately limits the heart’s pumping function. It is the most common inherited cardiovascular disorder, with approximately 132,000-330,000 patients diagnosed in China and an estimated 748,000-1,870,000 who remain undiagnosed, according to RTW’s announcement.
CORXEL, formerly called Ji Xing Pharmaceuticals, is a biotech company focused on providing therapies to underserved patients with cardiometabolic diseases. The company was founded and launched by RTW Investments in 2019 and, in July 2020, the company entered into a license and collaboration agreement with Cytokinetics, a late-stage biopharmaceutical company headquartered in California. Under the licence agreement, Cytokinetics granted CORXEL an exclusive license to develop and commercialise Aficamten in Greater China.
