HUTCHMED (China) Limited announced that two late-breaking Phase III trials—SAFFRON and SANOVO—evaluating the oral, chemotherapy-free combination of savolitinib and AstraZeneca’s osimertinib have been selected for high-profile oral presentations at the European Society for Medical Oncology (ESMO) Congress 2026, scheduled for 23–27 October in Madrid.

The global SAFFRON study, chosen for a Presidential Symposium slot on 25 October, compared savolitinib + osimertinib with platinum-pemetrexed doublet chemotherapy in epidermal growth factor receptor-mutated (EGFRm) non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients exhibiting MET overexpression or amplification after progression on prior osimertinib. High-level results released on 17 August 2026 showed statistically significant and clinically meaningful improvements in both progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS) versus chemotherapy.

The China-based SANOVO trial, allocated to a Proffered Paper session on 26 October, assessed the same combination as first-line therapy in treatment-naïve, locally advanced or metastatic EGFR-mutated, MET-overexpressing NSCLC. Top-line data disclosed on 31 August 2026 demonstrated a statistically significant PFS benefit and a clinically meaningful OS advantage over osimertinib monotherapy.

Beyond savolitinib, HUTCHMED will report updated outcomes across its broader oncology pipeline. Key abstracts include real-world and trial data on the VEGFR inhibitor fruquintinib—marketed as ELUNATE in China and FRUZAQLA outside Greater China under license to Takeda—in metastatic colorectal, renal, and gastric cancers. The company will also present new analyses for surufatinib (SULANDA) combinations in neuroendocrine tumours, pancreatic cancer, and other solid tumours, with one rapid oral presentation highlighting a first-line regimen for extrapulmonary neuroendocrine carcinoma.

Collectively, the breadth of late-stage and real-world evidence scheduled for ESMO underscores HUTCHMED’s expanding oncology franchise and the clinical momentum behind its home-grown kinase inhibitors, particularly the savolitinib–osimertinib regimen poised to address significant unmet need in EGFRm/MET-driven NSCLC.