(Yicai Global) April 20 -- Chinese drugmaker InnoCare Pharma said its Bruton's tyrosine kinase inhibitor has become China's first such drug approved to treat relapsed and refractory marginal zone lymphoma, a lymphatic system cancer.

Orelabrutinib has obtained approval from China's National Medical Products Administration for treating r/r MZL, InnoCare announced on its website today. This was the drug's third indication approved in China in over two years on the market, it added.

MZL is the second most common lymphoma in China, accounting for about 8.3 percent of total cases and mainly affecting middle-aged and elderly people, the Beijing-based firm added. Its incidence is on the rise globally, and there is a lack of effective treatments for relapsing patients, it pointed out.

The NMPA approved Orelabrutinib for treating r/r chronic lymphocytic leukemia and small lymphocytic lymphoma, and r/r mantle cell lymphoma in December 2020, becoming InnoCare's first commercialized product. The drug was included in China's national medical insurance catalog at the end of 2021.

InnoCare's income from drug sales in China jumped 164 percent to CNY565.9 million (USD82.2 million) in the 12 months ended Dec. 31 from the year before, accounting for 90 percent of the firm's total revenue, according to its latest earnings report.

Net loss widened to CNY893.7 million last year from CNY66.7 million (USD9.7 million) in 2021 because of surging research and development expenses, InnoCare noted. The company has two commercialized products and more than 10 drugs under development.

InnoCare [SHA: 688428] ended 0.2 percent lower at CNY14.38 (USD2.09) today. Its Hong Kong-listed shares [HKG: 9969] fell 1.5 percent to HKD9.54 (USD1.22).

Editor: Martin Kadiev