Simcere’s Sanbexin Before Thrombectomy Studied to Improve Outcomes After AIS in TASTE-2

November 19, 2024—Simcere Pharmaceuticals Group Ltd. recently announced that findings from the TASTE-2 clinical study have shown that the administration of the company’s Sanbexin (edaravone and dexborneol concentrated solution for injection) in patients with acute ischemic stroke (AIS) before receiving endovascular thrombectomy (EVT) significantly improved neurofunction recovery and reduced disability from stroke.

According to the company, Sanbexin is a multitargeted brain-cell protection agent developed by Simcere that has been approved for use in stroke treatment worldwide since 2015. The company noted that the two active ingredients—edaravone and dexborneol—have synergistic antioxidant and anti-inflammatory effects that can significantly reduce brain cell injury or impairment caused by AIS.

Simcere stated that the study was conducted within the background that EVT is able to achieve recanalization in approximately 70% to 90% of patients with an LVO stroke, but that only half of these patients achieve favorable brain function recovery. A significant proportion of the patients who received EVT remain disabled to varying degrees after 90 days of treatment, noted the company.

TASTE-2—“Treatment of Acute Ischemic Stroke with Edaravone Dexborneal 2”—is a multicenter, double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled clinical study.

Professor Yongjun Wang, MD, with Beijing Tiantan Hospital in Beijing, China, presented the findings in a late-breaking oral presentation at the 16th World Stroke Conference held October 23-26, 2024, in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.

The company reported that from March 2022 to May 2023, the study investigators enrolled 1,362 patients experiencing AIS who had a large-vessel occlusion in the anterior circulation. Patients were randomly allocated (1:1) to receive edaravone dexborneol (edaravone 30 mg plus dexborneol 7.5 mg) or placebo before EVT and continued twice a day over a consecutive period of 10-14 days.

In the press release, the company summarized the findings as follows:

• In the primary efficacy outcomes, 379 (55.0%) patients in the edaravone dexborneol group and 333 (49.6%) in the placebo group achieved a modified Rankin Scale 0-2 at day 90 (odds ratio, 1.24; 95% CI, 1.00-1.54; risk ratio, 1.11; 95% CI, 1.00-1.23).
• All safety outcomes were similar between the two groups.

These findings suggest that edaravone dexborneol could improve the favorable functional outcome at 90 days in AIS patients within 24-hour of symptom onset who underwent EVT, stated Simcere.