Sillajen announced Monday that the company has enrolled its first patient for a phase 3 clinical trial for Pexa-Vec in treating people with liver cancer in China

The company plans to register patients who have not taken Nexavar and have a certain level of immunity. Such recruitment requirement is because a patient needs at least some immunity level for the immunotherapeutic drugs to be effective, the company said.

“As a doctor who treats many patients with liver cancer, I understand the unmet needs of patients with liver cancer in Asia and around the world,” said Professor Shukui Qin, the lead researcher for the phase 3 clinical trial in China.

The hospital expects that Pexa-Vec will become a potential treatment for patients, he added.

About 500,000 people out of 900,000 liver cancer patients worldwide are known to be living in China. To receive sales approval in the country, a company has to complete a clinical trial on Chinese patients.