BARCELONA, Spain – J Ints Bio, a South Korean bioscience company, has unveiled JIN-A02, a fourth-generation epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR)-targeted anti-cancer drug candidate, muscling into a market where AstraZeneca and Johnson & Johnson dominate third-generation therapies.

With the move, it became the first Korean company to enter the race for fourth-generation EGFR inhibitors. EGFR refers to a protein involved in cell growth and is a key target in cancer treatment.

“JIN-A02 is expected to offer a broader mutation spectrum, CNS (central nervous system) activity and an improved safety profile, compared with third-generation therapies,” said Cho Byoung-chul, professor of oncology at Yonsei Cancer Hospital.

He presented the drug candidate at the World Conference on Lung Cancer (WCLC) 2025 held on Sept. 6-9 in Barcelona, Spain.

“Based on the data collected so far, JIN-A02 is the most clinically advanced candidate among the fourth-generation EGFR-TKIs,” said Cho, chief clinical adviser for the JIN-A02 trial.

EGFR-TKIs are a type of targeted therapy drug used primarily for non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) with specific EGFR gene mutation.

At the conference, J Ints Bio released preclinical results for JIN-A02, as well as early data on a Phase 1/2 trial, which is underway across several countries including South Korea, the US and Thailand. The preclinical data involves 23 patients.

PRECLINICAL DATA

The preclinical data showed that JIN-A02 demonstrated stronger antitumor activity than existing therapies, indicating its potential to outperform current drugs.

“This offers new possibilities for patients whose treatment options were limited due to tumor heterogeneity,’” said Lim Seon-min, a professor in the Department of Oncology at Yonsei Cancer Center.

She presented preclinical data during the e-poster session at the WCLC 2025.

THIRD-GENERATION THERAPIES

At the conference, AstraZeneca grabbed the spotlight with the survival results from the FLAURA2 Phase 3 trial for its blockbuster targeted therapy Tagrisso in combination with other treatments.

When Tagrisso was combined with platinum-based chemotherapy for EGFR-mutant NSCLC patients, they achieved a median overall survival of 47.5 months.

In addition to platinum-based chemotherapy, AstraZeneca has expanded the range of combination therapies to include antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs).

Johnson & Johnson also released updated results from the MARIPOSA-3 trial of its combination therapy of Amivantamab and Lazertinib.

It projected the regimen to deliver a median overall survival exceeding 48 months.