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The Chinese trial that first showed fruquintinib works. FRESCO-2 then repeated it worldwide in patients who had already had everything.
FRESCO randomised 416 patients at 28 Chinese hospitals 2:1 to fruquintinib 5 mg daily, three weeks on and one off, or placebo after at least two lines of chemotherapy, excluding patients who had already had a VEGFR inhibitor. Median overall survival was 9.3 against 6.6 months (hazard ratio 0.65, 95% CI 0.51 to 0.83). Fruquintinib was approved in China in 2018 on this trial. FRESCO-2 then tested it in a heavily pretreated global population who had progressed on or could not tolerate trifluridine/tipiracil or regorafenib, reaching 7.4 against 4.8 months, and led to the FDA approval on 8 November 2023, the EU marketing authorisation for Fruzaqla on 20 June 2024 and NICE TA1079 in July 2025.
Numbers are from the trial as recorded here; see the source links in the table below. This is orientation, not medical advice: ask your team how closely the trial population matches you.
Shares SUNLIGHT, FRESCO-2, VEGF / VEGFR, Anti-angiogenic therapy.
Shares FRESCO-2, Hutchmed, Fruquintinib, VEGF / VEGFR.
Shares FRESCO-2, VEGF / VEGFR, Anti-angiogenic therapy, Small-molecule kinase inhibitors.
Shares SUNLIGHT, FRESCO-2, Fruquintinib, Colorectal cancer.
Shares Fruquintinib, Anti-angiogenic therapy, Small-molecule kinase inhibitors, Colorectal cancer.
Shares Fruquintinib, Anti-angiogenic therapy, Small-molecule kinase inhibitors, Colorectal cancer.
Shares Hutchmed, VEGF / VEGFR, Anti-angiogenic therapy.
Shares FRESCO-2, Fruquintinib, Colorectal cancer.