PharmaEssentia Initiates Pivotal Trial of Ropeginterferon Alfa-2b to Treat Essential Thrombocythemia
PharmaEssentia to Present at the 39th Virtual Annual J.P. Morgan Healthcare Conference
Five-year Data on Ropeginterferon Alfa-2b Illustrate Durable Response at Five Years in People with Polycythemia Vera
PharmaEssentia to Present Long-Term Data on Ropeginterferon alfa-2b in Polycythemia Vera at Virtual ASH Annual Meeting
PharmaEssentia Appoints Raymond Urbanski, M.D., Ph.D., as U.S. Head of Clinical Development and Medical Affairs
U.S. FDA Accepts PharmaEssentia’s Application for Ropeginterferon Alfa-2b to Treat Polycythemia Vera
AOP Orphan announces three-year results on Ropeginterferon alfa-2b in Polycythemia Vera at the American Society of Hematology (ASH) Annual Meeting 2018
Press Release from AOP Orphan Pharmaceuticals AG
Vienna, Austria
December 4, 2018
- High rates of durable hematological response and symptom control with good tolerability were reconfirmed with Ropeginterferon alfa-2b after 36 months of treatment.
- Disease Modification by Ropeginterferon alfa-2b was illustrated by high molecular response rates, associated with the ability to reduce allelic burden of both mutant JAK2 and importantly also non-JAK2 mutations which are believed to have a role in disease progression.
- In line with molecular findings, disease or treatment related secondary malignancies including 2 cases of acute myeloid leukemia occurred only in patients receiving HU.
- AOP Orphan ́s submission for marketing authorization of Ropeginterferon alfa-2b in the EU is in the final stage of EMA review.
Vienna, 04 December 2018: AOP Orphan Pharmaceuticals AG (AOP Orphan) announces latest follow-up results on Ropeginterferon alfa-2b in patients with Polycythemia Vera (PV) from CONTINUATION-PV presented at ASH 2018.
CONTINUATION-PV is an open-label, multicenter, phase IIIb study assessing the long-term efficacy and safety of Ropeginterferon alfa-2b versus hydroxyurea (HU) or best available treatment (BAT) in patients with PV who previously participated in the PROUD-PV study.
Ropeginterferon alfa-2b is a novel, long-acting, mono-pegylated proline interferon (ATC L03AB15). It is administered once every 2 weeks initially, or monthly after stabilization of hematological parameters. It is expected to be the first interferon approved for PV worldwide. AOP Orphan ́s submission for marketing authorization in the EU is in the final stage of EMA review.
Clinical evidence:
Previously, at 12 months of treatment, Ropeginterferon alfa-2b was shown to be non-inferior to hydroxyurea (HU) in Complete Hematologic Response (CHR) and to have a significantly better safety and tolerability profile. . At 24 months Ropeginterferon alfa-2b achieved a significantly higher CHR of 70.5% versus 49.3% compared with HU/BAT (p=0.0101).
After 36 months of treatment Ropeginterferon alfa-2b sustained higher CHR response rates compared to HU/BAT (70.5% vs. 51.4%; p=0.0122). Further, the composite endpoint, CHR including disease symptom improvement was higher in patients treated with Ropeginterferon alfa-2b compared to HU/BAT (52.6% vs. 37.8%; p=0.0437).
Disease modification evidence:
66.0% of PV patients treated with Ropeginterferon alfa-2b, but only 27.0% having received HU/BAT showed a mutant JAK2 molecular response (p<0.0001) after 36 months. Importantly, molecular response strongly correlated with CHR, emphasizing the clinical relevance of mutant JAK2 allele burden reduction.
Analysis of additional non-JAK2 mutations, which are believed to contribute to disease progression revealed that Ropeginterferon alfa-2b, but not HU was able to reduce their respective mutant allele burden. This suggests that only Ropeginterferon alfa-2b but not HU has the ability to suppress additional clones with different mutations and modify the disease at the molecular level.
In line with molecular findings, disease or treatment related secondary malignancies occurred only in patients receiving HU/BAT, including 2 cases of acute myeloid leukemia, 1 melanoma and 2 basaliomas, whereas 3 malignancies (glioblastoma, seminoma, adrenal neoplasm) most likely unrelated to treatment were reported for patients treated with Ropeginterferon alfa-2b.
A similar number of patients experienced adverse events (89.8% for Ropeginterferon alfa-2b, 90.6% for HU) and treatment- related adverse events (74.8% for Ropeginterferon alfa-2b, 78.7% for HU). The most common (>10%) treatment-related adverse events anemia, thrombocytopenia and leukopenia occurred more frequently with HU, whereas liver enzyme increase was mainly observed with Ropeginterferon alfa-2b.
No new safety signals appeared in the third year of treatment.
Professor Heinz Gisslinger from the Medical University of Vienna, Austria presenting the results at ASH stated, “The observed superior efficacy of Ropeginterferon alfa-2b over hydroxyurea/best-available-therapy after 36 months, is a clear proof of the long-term value of this treatment modality. Thus, Ropeginterferon alfa-2b will provide a valuable and safe new first line therapy for PV patients”.
Professor Jean-Jacques Kiladjian from the Saint-Louis Hospital & Paris Diderot University in France, concluded, “The disease modification capability of Ropeginterferon alfa-2b suggested by a significant reduction of not only mutant JAK2, but also non-JAK2 allele burden and the specific targeting of the malignant clone, holds promise for improvement of progression- free survival and long-term patient benefit.”
About Ropeginterferon alfa-2b
Ropeginterferon alfa-2b is a novel, long-acting, mono-pegylated proline interferon (ATC L03AB15) with improved pharmacokinetic properties offering improved tolerability and convenience. It is administered once every 2 weeks, or monthly during long-term maintenance, and is expected to be the first interferon approved for PV worldwide. AOP Orphan ́s submission for marketing authorization in the EU is currently under EMA review.
Ropeginterferon alfa-2b was discovered by PharmaEssentia, a long-term partner of AOP Orphan. Ropeginterferon alfa-2b has Orphan Drug designation in the European Union, Switzerland and the United States of America.
In 2009, AOP Orphan has in-licensed from PharmaEssentia Corporation the exclusive rights to develop and commercialize Ropeginterferon alfa-2b in PV, other MPNs and CML for European, Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), and Middle Eastern markets.
About Polycythemia Vera
Polycythemia Vera (PV) is a cancer of the blood-building cells in the bone marrow resulting in a chronic increase of red blood cells, white blood cells and platelets. This condition may result in circulatory disorders such as thrombosis and embolism, as well as malignant transformation to myelofibrosis or leukemia. While the molecular mechanism underlying PV is still subject of intense research, current results point to a set of acquired mutations, the most important being a mutant form of JAK2 that make the malignant clone.
About AOP Orphan Pharmaceuticals AG
AOP Orphan is a multinational company with headquarters in Vienna, Austria focusing on clinical research, development and distribution of medicines for rare and complex diseases. The company also provides individualized and customized services to meet and accommodate the needs of physicians and patients across Europe, the Middle East & Asia. Currently AOP Orphan is concentrating on rare and complex diseases in HematoOncology, Cardiology & Pulmonology, and Neurology & Metabolic Disorders.
Contact
AOP Orphan Pharmaceuticals AG
Wilhelminenstrasse 91/IIf, 1160 Vienna, Austria
Dr. Christoph Klade, Chief Scientific Officer
christoph.klade@aoporphan.com
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PharmaEssentia updates progress of Ropeginterferon alfa-2b clinical program
- 36 month analysis of ropeginterferon alfa-2b (Ropeg) phase III clinical data in Polycythemia Vera (PV) demonstrates superiority across three key aspects of disease control, including complete hematological response (CHR), disease burden, and molecular response
- A long-term development partner of Ropeg, AOP Orphan’s submission for marketing authorization of ropeginterferon alfa-2b in the EU is in the final stage of European Medicines Agency (EMA) regulatory review
- PharmaEssentia is continuing to discuss with the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) the best path forward to make ropeginterferon alfa-2b available to PV patients in the US
- PharmaEssentia is planning to initiate a global clinical development program of ropeginterferon alfa-2b in Essential Thrombocythemia (ET)
Ropeginterferon alfa-2b maintains efficacy and safety profile in PV
Ropeginterferon alfa-2b is a novel, single isomer long-acting pegylated interferon in clinical development for treatment of patients with PV. At the 2018 American Society of Hematology (ASH) Annual Meeting, Prof. Heinz Gisslinger from the Medical University of Vienna, Austria presented the 36 month update of ropeginterferon alfa-2b in patients with PV (http://www.bloodjournal.org/content/132/Suppl_1/579).
PharmaEssentia CEO, Kochung Lin, PhD stated “We are very pleased to see that ropeginterferon maintains strong efficacy and good tolerability at 36 months. We truly believe that ropeginterferon is a next-generation and better interferon. We wanted to design a molecule that has a longer half-life and better tolerability, so it can be used at a higher dose and maximize its therapeutic potential. I believe we were successful in our design. The median maintenance dose in the PROUD-PV/CONTINUATION-PV trial is 450mcg. Now we are working very hard to make it available to patients with PV in the US and outside the US.”
After 36 months of treatment, maintenance of higher responder rates (full analysis set) was shown in the ropeginterferon alfa-2b arm compared to hydroxyurea/best available therapy (HU/BAT) for CHR (70.5% vs. 51.4%; p=0.0122) and for CHR plus symptom improvement (52.6% vs. 37.8%; p=0.0437). In contrast to HU/BAT, response rates were steadily increasing in the ropeginterferon arm throughout 24 months of treatment and remained constant after 36 months. Strongly significant molecular response in the JAK2 mutant allele reduction and the ability to reduce the non-JAK2 mutant clone burden suggest potential disease modification capability. Importantly, molecular response strongly correlated with CHR, emphasizing the clinical relevance of mutant JAK2 allele burden reduction.
Safety profile was similar to previous reports and no new safety signals emerged. Rate of adverse events (89.8% vs 90.6%) and treatment-related adverse events (74.8% vs 78.7%) were comparable between ropeginterferon alfa-2b and HU/BAT arms. No new safety signals appeared in the third year of treatment.
EMA submission of ropeginterferon alfa-2b in PV in final stage of review
PharmaEssentia out-licensed the exclusive rights to develop and commercialize ropeginterferon alfa-2b to AOP Orphan Pharmaceuticals AG (AOP Orphan) in PV, other MPNs, and CML for European, Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), and Middle Eastern markets.
AOP Orphan is the sponsor of PROUD-PV/CONTINUATION-PV clinical program and its submission for marketing authorization of ropeginterferon alfa-2b in the EU is in the final stage of European Medicines Agency (EMA) regulatory review.
Discussions with US Food and Drug Administration (FDA)
PharmaEssentia is in on-going discussions with the FDA on the best path forward to make ropeginterferon alfa-2b available to patients in the US.
Craig Zimmerman, PhD, the Head of US Operations, says “We have had fruitful discussions with the FDA on the best path forward in bringing the ropeginterferon to PV patients in the US. We have strong collaboration and support of the MPN community and medical experts, so we understand the large unmet need that exists in this patient population. We are doing everything we can to successfully bring this product to market.”
Expansion of ropeginterferon alfa-2b clinical program in MPNs
During ASH 2018, several clinical trial updates were presented on the use of interferons and interferon combinations in PV, ET, pre-fibrotic myelofibrosis (MF), and chronic myeloid leukemia (CML). These trials indicate potential interferon utility across multiple indications.
PharmaEssentia will hold preliminary discussion with the FDA in December 2018 on the feasibility of pivotal, phase III global clinical study in HU resistant/intolerant ET patients.
Additionally, because ropeginterferon alfa-2b can be dosed at much higher doses, the company can now investigate its potential effect in certain promising solid tumor indications.
About Ropeginterferon alfa-2b
Ropeginterferon alfa-2b is a novel, long-acting, predominately (>98%) single isomer mono-pegylated proline interferon (ATC L03AB15) with improved pharmacokinetic properties and demonstrated tolerability and convenience. It is administered once every 2 weeks, or once every 4 weeks during long-term maintenance, and is expected to be the first interferon approved for PV worldwide.
Ropeginterferon alfa-2b was discovered and is manufactured by PharmaEssentia in a Taichung plant, which was cGMP certified by EMA in January 2018.
Ropeginterferon alfa-2b has Orphan Drug designation in the European Union, Switzerland, and the United States of America.
About Polycythemia Vera
Polycythemia Vera (PV) is a cancer originating from a disease-initiating stem cell in the bone marrow resulting in a chronic increase of red blood cells, white blood cells, and platelets. This condition may result in cardiovascular complications such as thrombosis and embolism, as well as transformation to secondary myelofibrosis or leukemia. While the molecular mechanism underlying PV is still subject of intense research, current results point to a set of acquired mutations, the most important being a mutant form of JAK2.
About PharmaEssentia
PharmaEssentia Corporation (Taipei Exchange:6446) is a global biopharmaceutical company delivering efficacious, safe and cost-effective therapeutic products for the treatment of human diseases while aiming to bring long lasting value to stakeholders. PharmaEssentia was founded in 2003 by a group of Taiwanese-American executives and high-ranking scientists from leading U.S. biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies in order to develop treatments for myeloproliferative neoplasms, hepatitis and other diseases. The company is committed to the improvement of health and quality of life for patients suffering from these diseases. The Company’s world-class cGMP biologics facility in Taichung was certified by the EMA in January 2018 and by the Taiwan Food and Drug Administration (TFDA) in December 2017. The Taichung plant is also designed and operated to be compliant with all US FDA requirements.
Contact
PharmaEssentia Corporation
13F, No.3, YuanQu St., NanKang Dist.,Taipei 115, Taiwan
Shan Chi Ku, Director of Business Development and Investor Relations
e-mail: ShanChi_Ku@pharmaessentia.com
Telephone: +886-2-2655-7688 #7836
Meredith Manning
Jack Hwang, Ph.D.
Albert Qin, M.D. Ph.D.
Ching-Leou Teng, Ph.D.
Ko-Chung Lin, Ph.D.