Befotertinib (Surmana®) is an orally administered, highly selective, third-generation epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) tyrosine kinase inhibitor (TKI) being developed by Betta Pharmaceuticals and InventisBio for the treatment of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). In May 2023, befotertinib was approved in China for the second-line treatment of patients with locally advanced or metastatic NSCLC who have received EGFR TKI therapy and have disease progression with positive EGFR T790M mutation. Befotertinib is under regulatory review for the first-line treatment of NSCLC in China. Clinical studies assessing befotertinib as an adjuvant therapy after surgery for early EGFR-mutant NSCLC (phase III) and in combination with icotinib for advanced or metastatic EGFR-mutant NSCLC (phase II) are currently underway in China. This article summarizes the milestones in the development of befotertinib leading to this first approval for the second-line treatment of EGFR T790M-mutated locally advanced or metastatic NSCLC.
© 2023. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Nature Switzerland AG.