HengRui pushes Herombopag surgery-readiness readout to December 2026
The Phase 3 trial's primary completion date slipped a year while enrollment closed at 127 patients, testing whether Herombopag can match the platelet-response bar set by approved rivals lusutrombopag and avatrombopag.
Executive Summary
- Jiangsu HengRui Medicine pushed the primary completion date for its Phase 3 Herombopag trial in chronic liver disease patients preparing for surgery back a full year, the second such shift since the study began.
- Enrollment closed above target and the trial moved to Active, not recruiting, so the timeline shift reflects a data-collection and follow-up window stretching out, not a struggling recruitment effort.
- Two thrombopoietin receptor agonists already carry approval for raising platelet counts before procedures in chronic liver disease, so this Phase 3 program's readout will be judged against an established efficacy standard rather than an open question of whether the mechanism works.
- Herombopag already carries a related Phase 3 immune thrombocytopenia study and earlier-phase work in cancer-associated thrombocytopenia, giving Jiangsu HengRui Medicine a broader base to draw regulatory experience from as this surgical-readiness trial matures.
The registry change
The trial's primary completion date has moved twice since it started. It first slipped from August 2025 to December 2025 in November 2025, then slipped again on July 17, 2026, from December 2025 to December 2026. Across the two amendments, the initially registered date has moved back roughly 15 months from the original August 2025 target. The same update also raised the enrollment figure from 101 to 127 and flipped trial status from Recruiting to Active, not recruiting, signaling that patient intake has finished and the study is now in its follow-up and analysis phase. NCT06507436+1The Phase III Clinical Study of Herombopag for the Treatment of Thrombocytopenia in Chronic Liver Disease Patients Undergoing Elective Invasive SurgeryNCT06507436The Phase III Clinical Study of Herombopag for the Treatment of Thrombocytopenia in Chronic Liver Disease Patients Undergoing Elective Invasive SurgeryJul 17, 2026
Probability of SuccessBased on the AppliedXL Probability of Success model. For more information about the methodology, read the research here.
What the trial tests
The study enrolls adults with Child-Pugh Class A or B chronic liver disease and platelet counts below 50x10^9/L who are scheduled for elective invasive procedures. Its primary efficacy measure is the proportion of patients whose platelet count reaches 50x10^9/L or higher within 24 hours of surgery, rising at least 20x10^9/L from baseline, without needing a platelet transfusion or other rescue treatment. The design is randomized and quadruple-masked with a placebo comparator across two arms, the standard structure for a registrational surgical-readiness trial in this population. NCT06507436The Phase III Clinical Study of Herombopag for the Treatment of Thrombocytopenia in Chronic Liver Disease Patients Undergoing Elective Invasive SurgeryNCT06507436
The competitive bar
Thrombopoietin receptor agonism is not a novel mechanism in this setting. Lusutrombopag and avatrombopag both carry FDA approval specifically for treating thrombocytopenia in adult chronic liver disease patients scheduled for a procedure, the same population and clinical use Herombopag is testing here. Eltrombopag and romiplostim are approved thrombopoietin receptor agonists as well, though for immune thrombocytopenia rather than this surgical-readiness setting. Herombopag's own competitive set includes a completed Phase 3 lusutrombopag trial in the identical chronic-liver-disease surgical population, giving this readout a direct efficacy precedent to replicate rather than a mechanism to validate for the first time.
Sponsor and pipeline context
Jiangsu HengRui Medicine runs three other Herombopag trials: a Phase 3 pediatric immune thrombocytopenia extension study, and two earlier-phase studies in cancer-associated thrombocytopenia, all currently listed as Unknown status. Across its broader portfolio of 563 trials, the sponsor has completed 272 and terminated 28, a 91% completion rate on trials with a resolved outcome. That track record provides some operational context for how the delayed but enrollment-complete surgical trial is likely to be run through to its readout.
This analysis was produced using AI-assisted reporting systems, AppliedXL data, and official public records. These systems undergo editorial review, quality checks, and regular audits by human experts. Errors may still occur, as with any automated system. Always consult the linked primary sources. Read our AI Editorial Policy.