A phase 1 randomized study compare the pharmacokinetics, safety and immunogenicity of HLX04 to reference bevacizumab sourced from the United States, the European Union, and China in healthy Chinese male volunteers

Purpose To compare the pharmacokinetic profiles, safety and immunogenicity of proposed bevacizumab biosimilar HLX04 with reference bevacizumab in healthy Chinese males. Methods In this double-blind Phase 1 study, healthy volunteers ( N = 208) were randomized 1:1:1:1 to a single 3 mg/kg intravenous infusion of HLX04 or reference bevacizumab sourced from the United States (bevacizumab-US), the European Union (bevacizumab-EU) or China (bevacizumab-CN). Co-primary endpoints were area under the serum concentration–time profile (AUC) from time zero extrapolated to infinity (AUC 0–inf ) and from zero to last quantifiable concentration (AUC last ). Secondary endpoint was the maximum serum drug concentration (C max ). Study participants were monitored for treatment-emergent adverse events (TEAEs) and samples were collected for anti-drug antibody (ADA) testing throughout the study. Results Pharmacokinetic parameters were similar across groups. The respective geometric least-squares mean ratios (GLSMR) of AUC 0–inf , AUC last and C max were: 95.7%, 96.0% and 101.8% for HLX04 versus bevacizumab-US; 94.3%, 94.6% and 100.5% for HLX04 versus bevacizumab-EU; and 90.0%, 90.4% and 98.2% for HLX04 versus bevacizumab-CN. For all test-to-reference comparisons, two-sided 90% confidence intervals of GLSMR for AUC 0–inf , AUC last and C max fell in the pre-specified bioequivalence range (80–125%). There were no notable differences in the frequency, nature and/or grade of TEAEs. No deaths were reported and no ADAs were detected during the study. Conclusion HLX04 had similar safety and pharmacokinetic profiles to reference bevacizumab in healthy Chinese males, supporting the confirmatory Phase 3 study investigating the efficacy and safety equivalence between HLX04 and bevacizumab in patients with metastatic colorectal cancer (NCT03511963). Clinical trial registration The study was registered with Clinicaltrials.gov, NCT03483649.