Hutchison China MediTech Limited (LON:HCM) has started safety trials of a drug aimed at combating blood cancers such as leukemia and lymphoma.
Hutchison said its drug R&D subsidiary Hutchison MediPharma had begun the first-in-human phase one clinical trial of HMPL-689 in Australia.
It will evaluate the safety, tolerability and pharmacokinetic properties of HMPL-689 before investigating HMPL-689 in haematological malignancies.
Pre-c;linical trials have already shown HMPL-689 to be more potent than drugs in the same class, as well as significant efficacy and a favorable safety profile.
Haematological cancers are classified as leukemia, which affects blood and bone marrow, lymphoma - which affects the lymphatic system - and myeloma, which affects bone marrow.
According to research, there were about 983,000 new cases of haematological cancers worldwide in 2015, which is expected to increase to approximately 1.1mln new cases annually by 2020.
The global market for haematological cancer treatments is projected to grow from about US$20.4bn in 2015 to US$25.7bn by 2020.
Shares in Hutchison Meditech rose 40p, or 2.1%, to 1925p in morning London trading.