On July 2, the "Symposium on Azvudine's Novel Mechanisms and Clinical Translation," hosted by the Institute of Medicinal Biotechnology of the Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, was held in Beijing. At the conference, Jiang Jiandong, Academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering and Dean of the Institute of Materia Medica at the Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, reported that four years after azvudine's market launch, his team has continued to conduct in-depth research into the drug's new mechanisms. The latest study published in June suggests that azvudine, as the first small-molecule chemical drug that selectively targets the thymus, holds potential in the field of tumor immunotherapy.
It is worth noting that azvudine is a Class 1.1 innovative drug with complete independent intellectual property rights in China. In July 2021, it received conditional approval from the National Medical Products Administration (NMPA) for the treatment of HIV-1 infection. In July 2022, azvudine was conditionally approved for the treatment of moderate COVID-19 in adults, becoming the first oral antiviral drug developed by a Chinese company for COVID-19.
According to Academician Jiang Jiandong and his team, beyond inhibiting viral enzymes, azvudine's core advantage lies in its ability to directly suppress viral replication while actively targeting the thymus, promoting the development and output of CD4⁺T and CD8⁺T cells, thus enhancing immune function at its source and controlling inflammation. In animal experiments, azvudine demonstrated significant tumor-suppressive effects in both melanoma and colorectal cancer models. However, this effect was diminished or absent in nude mice (which lack a thymus), suggesting that its antitumor activity depends on the thymus.
Professor Zhu Xuemei from Ruijin Hospital, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, presented a clinical study (IIT) published at ASCO 2026, which evaluated the efficacy of azvudine in combination with anti-PD-1 and VEGFR inhibitors for the treatment of advanced solid tumors. The study enrolled 25 subjects, 22 of whom had pMMR/MSS colorectal cancer. Among the 21 evaluable pMMR/MSS patients, the objective response rate (ORR) reached 19.1%, and the disease control rate (DCR) reached 90.5%.
Dr. Li Pan, Senior Vice President of Genuine Biotech, introduced that the company is advancing the construction of an "azvudine+ platform," focusing on two major directions—antiviral and antitumor—with an emphasis on developing diversified combination therapy regimens. In the oncology field, azvudine combined with immune checkpoint inhibitors, targeted small molecules, or chemotherapies can directly inhibit tumor DNA synthesis while suppressing MDSC expression, reshaping the antitumor immune microenvironment, reversing the immunosuppressive state of "cold tumors," and delaying or reversing acquired resistance that frequently emerges during targeted therapy or immune monotherapy.
Professor Zhang Guodong from Pingmei Shenma Medical Group General Hospital shared an exploratory trial of azvudine in HIV patients with incomplete immune reconstitution. After 24 patients switched to an azvudine-based triple regimen for 48 weeks, CD4⁺T cell counts significantly increased, CD4/CD8 immune balance was restored, and the potential for immune reconstitution was validated.
Efung Capital participated in multiple rounds of investment in Genuine Biotech from 2021 to 2022. Looking ahead, Efung Capital will continue to focus on value discovery in innovative drugs, further support this domestically developed innovative drug in cross-indication clinical exploration and real-world studies, and help unlock its greater clinical potential at the intersection of antiviral and tumor immunology. At the same time, Efung Capital will actively position itself in early-stage projects with differentiated mechanisms and global competitiveness, empowering original innovation through capital and advancing Chinese homegrown breakthroughs to benefit more patients.
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