RUSSCO includes Areima® in the most preferred first-line regimen of nasopharyngeal cancer therapy

The Russian Society of Clinical Oncology (RUSSCO) has included the innovative drug Areima^® (camrelizumab) in  combination with gemcitabine and cisplatin in its practical guidelines^[1] as the most preferred first-line nasopharyngeal cancer therapy regimen. This new immuno-oncological method will improve patient survival and quality of life.

The innovative drug Areima^® (INN: camrelizumab) was granted authorization в Russia in November 2024. It is an original PD-1 inhibitor with a combined mechanism of action and the first immuno-oncological drug in Russia applied to treat nasopharyngeal carcinoma (nasopharyngeal cancer), a high mortality type of cancer. Until now, chemotherapy has been the only option for the first-line therapy of this disease in Russia.

The drug has successfully passed international clinical studies, including in Russia. The CAPTAIN 1st^[2] study (phase 3) revealed a significant increase in the median progression-free survival (PFS) and high disease control values compared to chemotherapy only.

Nasopharyngeal carcinoma is an orphan disease with a prevalence of 0.3% per 100,000 people in Russia^[3]. More than 40% of patients with nasopharyngeal cancer visit a physician late, when the disease has already reached its stage four. Approximately 45% of patients die within the first year of diagnosis^[4].

Earlier, the Council of Experts joined by leading Russian oncologists recommended that camrelizumab be included in the Clinical Guidelines for the treatment of nasopharyngeal cancer of the Russian Ministry of Health, boosting a chance for Russian patients to get this innovative therapy.

Before the Russian Ministry of Health considers the possibility of including a drug in its Clinical Guidelines, the Russian Society of Clinical Oncology must add this drug to the practical guidelines.

The first supplies of Areima^® in Russia are expected in Q1 2025, with subsequent localization of full-cycle production facilities planned at the Russian company Petrovax Pharm.

¹ L. V. Bolotina et al. HEAD AND NECK TUMORS. Practical guidelines of RUSSCO. https://https://www.malignanttumors.org/jour/article/view/1365/.

² Yang, Y. et al., 2021, The Lancet Oncology, 22(8), pp. 1162-1174.

³ А. D. Kaprin, V.V. Starinsky, G.V. Petrova. Malignant neoplasms in Russia in 2014.

⁴ V. M. Merabishvili, Z. A.-G. Radzhabova et al. Head and neck tumors. No. 3, 2024.