Penpulimab

Key takeaways

Penpulimab belongs to science; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Penpulimab to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Penpulimab from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Penpulimab is a humanized monoclonal antibody used for the treatment of cancer. It targets the programmed cell death protein 1 (PD-1) receptor. It is developed by Akeso. Penpulimab was approved for medical use in China in August 2021, and in the United States in April 2025.

Medical uses In the United States, penpulimab is indicated for the treatment of non-keratinizing nasopharyngeal carcinoma. In August 2021, penpulimab received its first approval in China for the treatment of adults with relapsed or refractory classic Hodgkin lymphoma who have undergone at least second-line chemotherapy. In January 2023, the National Medical Products Administration of China approved penpulimab in combination with chemotherapy for the first-line treatment of locally advanced or metastatic squamous non-small cell lung cancer.

Adverse effects The most common adverse effects associated with penpulimab include:

Hypothyroidism - Fever - Elevated alanine aminotransferase levels - Decreased white blood cell count - Rash Grade 3 or higher immune-related adverse events (irAEs) reported in clinical trials include skin rash, hyperlipidemia, and lung infections.

Pharmacology

Mechanism of action Penpulimab binds to the PD-1 receptor on T cells, preventing interaction with its ligands, PD-L1 and PD-L2. This blockade restores T-cell-mediated immune responses against tumor cells. The antibody has been engineered with modifications to its Fc region to eliminate Fcγ receptor binding and Fc-mediated effector functions, reducing the risk of immune-related adverse effects such as antibody-dependent cellular cytotoxicity (ADCC) or phagocytosis. Penpulimab demonstrates a slower dissociation rate from the PD-1 receptor compared to other PD-1 inhibitors, resulting in higher receptor occupancy and enhanced T-cell activity. This property is attributed to its unique binding interactions with the glycosylated N58 residue on the BC loop of the PD-1 receptor.

Manufacturing Penpulimab is produced using recombinant DNA technology in Chinese hamster ovary cells. It has been designed with an IgG1 backbone and modified Fc regions to minimize immune-related side effects.

History The efficacy of penpulimab with cisplatin or carboplatin and gemcitabine was evaluated in study AK105-304 (NCT04974398), a randomized, double-blind, multi-center trial in 291 participants with recurrent or metastatic nasopharyngeal carcinoma who had not received previous systemic chemotherapy for recurrent or metastatic disease. Participants were randomized (1:1) to receive either penpulimab with cisplatin or carboplatin and gemcitabine, followed by penpulimab, or placebo with cisplatin or carboplatin and gemcitabine, followed by placebo. The efficacy of single-agent penpulimab was evaluated in study AK105-202 (NCT03866967), an open-label, multi-center, single-arm trial conducted in a single country. The trial included a total of 125 participants with unresectable or metastatic non-keratinizing nasopharyngeal carcinoma who had disease progression after platinum-based chemotherapy and at least one other line of therapy. Participants received penpulimab until disease progression or unacceptable toxicity, for a maximum of 24 months.

Society and culture

Legal status In March 2025, penpulimab, was approved by the National Medical Products Administration in China for the first-line treatment of recurrent or metastatic nasopharyngeal cancer in combination with chemotherapy. In April 2025, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved penpulimab-kcqx with cisplatin or carboplatin and gemcitabine for the first-line treatment of adults with recurrent or metastatic non-keratinizing nasopharyngeal carcinoma. The FDA also approved penpulimab-kcqx as a single agent for adults with metastatic non-keratinizing nasopharyngeal carcinoma with disease progression on or after platinum-based chemotherapy and at least one other prior line of therapy. The FDA granted the application for penpulimab fast track, breakthrough therapy, and orphan drug designations.

Names Penpulimab is the international nonproprietary name. Penpulimab is sold under the brand name 安尼可 (Anike) in China.

Research Penpulimab is being studied in various clinical trials to evaluate its efficacy and safety for additional cancer indications, including nasopharyngeal carcinoma, non-small-cell lung cancer, and other solid tumors.

References

Further reading Chen X, Wang W, Zou Q, Zhu X, Lin Q, Jiang Y, et al. (June 2024). "Penpulimab, an anti-PD-1 antibody, for heavily pretreated metastatic nasopharyngeal carcinoma: a single-arm phase II study". Signal Transduction and Targeted Therapy. 9 (1) 148. doi:10.1038/s41392-024-01865-6. PMC 11189389. PMID 38890298.

External links Clinical trial number NCT04974398 for "A Study of Penpulimab (AK105) in the First-line Treatment of Recurrent or Metastatic Nasopharyngeal Carcinoma" at ClinicalTrials.gov Clinical trial number NCT03866967 for "A Study of Anti-PD-1 AK105 in Patients With Metastatic Nasopharyngeal Carcinoma" at ClinicalTrials.gov

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Penpulimab

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Penpulimab claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Penpulimab before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Penpulimab ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Penpulimab

In research: Penpulimab appears in science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Penpulimab in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Penpulimab is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Drugs not assigned an ATC code, Monoclonal antibodies for tumors, Orphan drugs, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Penpulimab outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

How to study Penpulimab in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Penpulimab means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Penpulimab out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Penpulimab in simple terms?

Penpulimab is a humanized monoclonal antibody used for the treatment of cancer. It targets the programmed cell death protein 1 (PD-1) receptor.

Why does Penpulimab matter?

Because it connects several science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Penpulimab?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Penpulimab.