SALT LAKE CITY, USA, JANUARY 2, 2018. LSKB announced that it has adopted the nonproprietary/generic name “rivoceranib” (pronounced riv” oh ser’ an ib) for its small molecule angiogenesis inhibitor commonly known as apatinib and YN968D1. “Rivoceranib” has been approved as the nonproprietary name by the World Health Organization’s International Nonproprietary Names (WHO-INN) and the American Medical Association’s United States Adopted Names (AMA-USAN) Council.

LSKB, which owns the global rights to rivoceranib outside of China and is conducting a global Phase 3 clinical study in gastric cancer, will hereafter use the newly adopted nonproprietary name worldwide. Jiangsu Hengrui Medicine Co., LTD who owns the Chinese rights, currently markets the drug under the brand name Aitan®. The common name “apatinib” is expected to remain in use in China.

Rivoceranib was developed by Advenchen Laboratories in Southern California under the designation YN968D1. The compound was exclusively licensed to Jiangsu Hengrui in China (2005) and LSK BioPharma (2008) for rest of the world. LSK BioPharma further licensed the South Korean rights to Bukwang Pharmaceutical Co., LTD