Medivir AB announced that the company's patent application, covering both substance claims for fostroxacitabine bralpamide (fostrox) and its use for liver cancer treatment, has recently been approved by the Chinese patent authority. Corresponding patents have already been granted in the USA, the EU, Japan and a large number of other countries, mainly in Asia. The patent is valid until 2035 with extensions of up to 5 years expected in key markets.

Primary liver cancer (HCC) is one of the most common forms of cancer with over 800,0001) new patients globally per year. More than 50% of these are estimated to be in China.