Prime Highlight
- A Chinese researcher-led Phase III ovarian cancer study using fuzuloparibwas published in one of the world’s top oncology journals, marking a significant international achievement.
- The trial demonstrated that fuzuloparib-based therapy slows disease progression and provides data to guide treatment based on genetic profiles, boosting global trust in China’s drug innovation.
Key Facts
- The FZOCUS-1 studywas conducted over six years across 54 hospitals in China, testing fuzuloparib alone or with apatinib as first-line maintenance therapy.
- China contributed over 28% of global life sciences publications in 2024, with nearly 256,000 papers, reflecting the country’s growing research output.
Background
Chinese pharmaceutical research is gaining greater global attention as more high-quality clinical studies led by domestic scientists appear in top international medical journals, industry experts and executives said.
A recent breakthrough came with the publication of a Phase III ovarian cancer study in CA: A Cancer Journal for Clinicians, one of the world’s most influential oncology journals. The study marks a rare achievement for a Chinese researcher-led gynecological cancer trial to be featured in the journal.
The FZOCUS-1 study tested fuzuloparib, a PARP inhibitor from Jiangsu Hengrui Pharmaceuticals. Researchers gave the drug alone or with apatinib as a first-line maintenance treatment for ovarian cancer. They found that patients who received fuzuloparib-based therapy had their disease progress much more slowly than those who received a placebo.
Conducted over six years at 54 hospitals across China, the trial also provided clear evidence to guide treatment choices based on patients’ genetic profiles, including BRCA and HRD status. Wu Lingying, the study’s principal investigator from the Cancer Hospital of the Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, said the research offers reliable data that can support treatment decisions both in China and internationally.
Hengrui Pharma vice-president Wang Quanren said the publication reflects growing trust in China’s drug innovation capabilities. He added that the findings should be seen as a step toward improving treatment standards rather than just market competition.
Industry analysts noted that such high-level clinical evidence can influence doctors’ decisions and support long-term commercial value. The 2025 China Life Sciences and Biotechnology Development Report shows that China published nearly 256,000 life sciences papers in 2024, making up more than 28% of the world’s total.
Hengrui is now expanding internationally and has started a multicenter prostate cancer trial in Europe, showing that China wants to take its own therapies to the global market.
