HLB Healthcare's production and R&D facility in Sejong / Courtesy of HLB

HLB's Rivoceranib anti-cancer drug recently received approval in China as a treatment for ovarian cancer, paving the way for the company to expand the drug's uses in the global market, the company said Monday.

HLB said it has generated sales of over 2 trillion won ($1.45 billion) with Rivoceranib in China after the drug received approvals as a third-line treatment for gastric cancer in 2014, second-line treatment for liver cancer in 2020 and first-line treatment for liver cancer in 2023.

With the new approval as a treatment for ovarian cancer, HLB expects the sales of Rivoceranib to grow further. HLB is awaiting approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for the combination therapy of its Rivoceranib and Camrelizumab, an anticancer drug by China's Jiangsu Hengrui Medicine.

"Considering the size of China's anti-cancer treatment market accounts for only 5 percent of the global market, the sales of Rivoceranib in China so far show that the anti-cancer drug has enormous value," a company spokesperson said.

The company added that the expansion of Rivoceranib from gastric and liver to ovarian cancers means that global pharmaceutical companies are likely to be interested in using the drug for combination therapy.

"Just as many blockbuster anti-cancer drugs received approval for one cancer type and then expanded their use cases to several types of cancer in a short period, HLB also plans to expand the value of Rivoceranib quickly based on abundant liquidity after receiving liver cancer drug approval," said Jang Jin-woo, vice president of the company.