Hutchison MediPharma (Suzhou) Co Ltd, a drug maker founded in SIP's BioBay in 2012, recently put into market 70,000 pieces of 5mg Fruquintinib capsules and 350,000 pieces of 1mg ones which are known as China's first anti-colorectal cancer (CRC) drugs. Now, the drugs are available at 68 drugstores across the country, including one in Suzhou.

The new medicine, a highly selective and potent small molecule oral inhibitor of vascular endothelial growth factor receptors, targets people with advanced CRC which reportedly kills nearly 700,000 people worldwide each year. Clinical trial data suggest that it can help extend patients' life by up to 40.5 months.

The capsules are priced lower than their imported counterparts. Besides, the company plans to launch a program later to donate drugs to patients who cannot afford treatment costs, and is striving to make the medicine covered by the national medical insurance system so that it can benefit more people.

Moreover, the company is working on possibilities of using the medicine for treatment of other cancers. A project targeting stomach cancer has gone into Phase III clinical trial. On the other hand, the company is joining hands with a local biotech company to develop combined therapies.