Xuanzhu Biopharmaceutical (HKG:2575) enrolled the first patient in the phase 3 study of its stomach-acid drug anaprazole sodium, according to a Sunday filing with the Hong Kong bourse.

The firm plans to study the drug as a treatment for Helicobacter pylori, a common bacterial infection linked to ulcers, gastritis, and gastric cancer.

The study will enroll 556 adults, and if successful, will help expand the treatment's approval from its current indication of duodenal ulcer.