Recently, the Science Technology department of Zhejiang Province issued a notice for the Provincial key R&D Program in 2021 and announced the list of the provincial key R&D program project. The project “Development and Research of New Drugs for Malignant Tumors-Third Generation EGFR Inhibitors of New Drug TY-9591 for the Treatment of Non-small Cell Lung Cancer” submitted by TYK Medicines was approved for the 2021 Provincial Key R&D Program (Merit-based Project).

Project Information

This project aims to develop a Class 1.1 new drug with independent intellectual property rights for urgent/unmet medical needs in China and to solve the drug needs of non-small cell lung cancer patients with EGFR mutations internationally. The R&D team designed a brand-new molecular structure through in-depth research in EGFR conformation and configuration as well as in vivo pharmacology studies, pharmacokinetics studies, and metabolic pathway studies, which demonstrated superior drug activity, enhanced pharmacokinetics stability, and reduced compound toxicities; therefore, TY-9591 showed better penetration to the blood-brain barrier so that could benefit the brain metastatic patient with excellent curative effect and safety. Once the project is approved for the market, it would be a great technological breakthrough for other similar import medicines and break the monopoly situation by multinational pharmaceutical companies to enter the international market.

Project leader

Dr. Yusheng Wu is a pharmacologist, National Distinguished Expert, Distinguished Professor of Zhengzhou University, and Doctoral Supervisor. He earned his Ph.D. in Organic Chemistry from Iowa State University in 1993 and completed postdoc research at the California Institute of Technology in 1996. Dr. Wu was employed by Schering-Plough’s new drug research and development department, where he made significant contributions towards the development of new drugs for a range of illnesses, including oncology, cardiovascular disease, diabetes, obesity, and Alzheimer’s disease. One of the innovative drugs for Alzheimer’s disease that he developed and led has reached Phase III clinical trials in the United States. He has been honored New Jersey Minority Contribution Award in 2005 and the Schering-Plough research and development president’s award in 2006. Motivated by the lack of progress in the fields of innovative drugs in China, Dr. Wu returned to his homeland in 2007 to lead s research and development team, with a steadfast commitment, the team dedicated itself to addressing the critical health concerns facing the country through innovative drug development. Dr. Wu has published over 100 Sci literature and holds over 80 patents.