Chia Tai Tianqing has received marketing approval in its China homeland for rovadicitinib, a first-in-class oral JAK/ROCK inhibitor for the treatment of certain patients with myelofibrosis. The drug is approved for the first-line treatment of adults with intermediate-2 or high-risk primary myelofibrosis, post-polycythaemia vera myelofibrosis or post-essential thrombocythemia myelofibrosis, addressing disease-related splenomegaly or symptoms. Rovadicitinib is designed to inhibit both JAK family kinases and ROCK kinases, modulating the JAK-STAT signalling pathway.

The approval is based on positive Phase II data presented at the European Society For Medical Oncology (ESMO) 2024 congress, which demonstrated that rovadicitinib was superior to hydroxyurea in reducing spleen volume and improving total symptom scores at 24 weeks. The safety profile was consistent with other drugs in the class. Myelofibrosis is a serious bone marrow cancer that can progress to acute leukaemia. While JAK inhibitors are a current standard of care, they do not reverse disease progression. Rovadicitinib is also being evaluated in combination therapies and has received breakthrough therapy designation (BTD) for chronic graft-versus-host disease.

PharmCube's NextBiopharm® database lists three other JJAK/ROCK inhibitors, which are still in development stages. Click here to request a free trial for NextBiopharm®.