- TEPKINLYis the first and only subcutaneous bispecific antibody approved as a monotherapy in the European Union to treat both relapsed or refractory (R/R) follicular lymphoma (FL) and R/R diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL), after two or more lines of systemic therapy
COPENHAGEN, Denmark I August 19, 2024 I Genmab A/S (Nasdaq: GMAB) today announced that the European Commission (EC) has granted conditional marketing authorization for TEPKINLY® (epcoritamab) as a monotherapy for the treatment of adult patients with relapsed or refractory (R/R) follicular lymphoma (FL) after two or more lines of systemic therapy. TEPKINLY is the first and only subcutaneous T-cell engaging bispecific antibody approved for the treatment of this patient population in the European Union (EU), as well as the European Economic Area (EEA) countries (Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway) and Northern Ireland.
“Follicular lymphoma can be challenging to treat and today’s approval of TEPKINLY for the treatment of relapsed/refractory follicular lymphoma after two or more lines of systemic therapy marks an important milestone for patients in the European Union who are in need of more options offering a balance of meaningful efficacy and favorable safety,” said Jan van de Winkel, Ph.D., President and Chief Executive Officer of Genmab. “Alongside our partner AbbVie, we are committed to exploring the continued development of epcoritamab as a potential core therapy across B-cell malignancies.”
FL is typically a slow-growing form of Hodgkin’s lymphoma (NHL) that arises from B-cell lymphocytes. FL is the second most common form of NHL overall, accounting for 20-30 percent of all NHL cases, and represents 10-20 percent of all lymphomas in the western world.i FL is considered incurable, and there is no standard of care treatment for third-line or later FL.i,ii Patients who achieve remission also often experience relapse.iii,iv,v
The conditional marketing authorization is supported by data from the Phase 1/2 EPCORE® NHL-1 clinical trial: an open-label, multi-cohort, multicenter, single-arm trial that evaluated TEPKINLY as monotherapy in patients with R/R FL after two or more lines of prior systemic therapy. Patients included in the study were refractory to both anti-CD20 monoclonal antibody therapy and an alkylating agent (70% having double refractory disease), patients who were refractory to last prior treatment (82%), and patients whose disease progressed within two years of initiating first systemic therapy (52%). The results published in the Lancet Haematology showed that patients treated with TEPKINLY (n=128) had an overall response rate (ORR) of 83% and a complete response (CR) rate of 63%. At a median follow-up of 16.2 months, the median duration of response was 21.4 months (13.7, NR). Duration of complete response (DOCR) was not reached.
The study included a planned separate optimization cohort, which evaluated 86 patients with the recommended 3-step-up doses for cytokine release syndrome (CRS) mitigation. Hospitalization was not mandatory in the cycle 1 optimization cohort. With the optimized regimen, 40% of patients experienced Grade 1 CRS and 9% experienced Grade 2 (no Grade 3 or higher CRS were reported). No immune effector cell-associated neurotoxicity syndrome (ICANS) cases were reported in this cohort.
The safety profile of epcoritamab in the pivotal cohort was similar to reports of epcoritamab monotherapy in the pivotal EPCORE NHL-1 diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) cohort. In the pooled safety population (n=382), the most common adverse reactions (≥ 20%) with TEPKINLY were CRS, injection site reactions, fatigue, viral infection, neutropenia, musculoskeletal pain, pyrexia, and diarrhea. The most frequent serious adverse reaction (≥ 10%) was cytokine release syndrome (34%). Fourteen patients (3.7%) experienced a fatal adverse reaction (pneumonia in 9 (2.4%) patients, viral infection in 4 (1.0%) patients, and ICANS in 1 (0.3%) patient.
“The approval of epcoritamab by the European Commission is a promising update for the lymphoma community,” said Kate Rogers, CEO of the Follicular Lymphoma Foundation. “Given that relapsed or refractory follicular lymphoma can be a very challenging form of cancer to treat, especially in later lines of therapy, it is critical that patients and physicians have additional options when it comes to treating this type of cancer.”
About the EPCORE® NHL-1 Trial
EPCORE® NHL-1 is an open-label, multi-center safety and preliminary efficacy trial of epcoritamab that consists of three parts: a dose escalation part; an expansion part; and an optimization part. The trial was designed to evaluate subcutaneous epcoritamab in patients with relapsed or refractory B-cell non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma (B-NHL), including FL. In the expansion part, additional patients were enrolled to further explore the safety and efficacy of epcoritamab in three cohorts of patients with different types of relapsed/refractory B-NHLs who have limited therapeutic options. The expansion part generated pivotal data from patients with FL and DLBCL. The optimization part evaluated additional CRS mitigation strategies during cycle 1. The primary endpoint of the expansion part was overall response rate (ORR) as assessed by an Independent Review Committee (IRC). Secondary efficacy endpoints included duration of response, complete response rate, duration of complete response, progression-free survival, and time to response as determined by the Lugano criteria. Overall survival, time to next therapy, and rate of minimal residual disease negativity were also evaluated as secondary efficacy endpoints. The primary endpoint of the optimization part was the rate of ≥ Grade 2 CRS events and all grade CRS events from first dose of epcoritamab through 7 days following administration of the second full dose of epcoritamab.
About Epcoritamab
Epcoritamab is an IgG1-bispecific antibody created using Genmab’s proprietary DuoBody® technology and administered subcutaneously. Genmab’s DuoBody-CD3 technology is designed to direct cytotoxic T cells selectively to elicit an immune response toward target cell types. Epcoritamab is designed to simultaneously bind to CD3 on T cells and CD20 on B cells and induces T-cell-mediated killing of CD20+ cells.vi
Epcoritamab (approved under the brand name EPKINLY in the U.S. and Japan, and TEPKINLY in the EU) has received regulatory approval in certain lymphoma indications in several territories. Epcoritamab is being co-developed by Genmab and AbbVie as part of the companies’ oncology collaboration. The companies will share commercial responsibilities in the U.S. and Japan, with AbbVie responsible for further global commercialization. Both companies will pursue additional international regulatory approvals for the investigational R/R FL indication and additional approvals for the R/R DLBCL indication.
Genmab and AbbVie continue to evaluate the use of epcoritamab as a monotherapy, and in combination, across lines of therapy in a range of hematologic malignancies. This includes four ongoing Phase 3, open-label, randomized trials including a trial evaluating epcoritamab as a monotherapy in patients with R/R DLBCL compared to investigators choice chemotherapy (NCT04628494), a trial evaluating epcoritamab in combination with R-CHOP in adult participants with newly diagnosed DLBCL (NCT05578976), a trial evaluating epcoritamab in combination with rituximab and lenalidomide (R2) in patients with R/R FL (NCT05409066), and a trial evaluating epcoritamab in combination with rituximab and lenalidomide (R2) compared to chemoimmunotherapy in patients with previously untreated FL (NCT06191744). The safety and efficacy of epcoritamab has not been established for these investigational uses. Please visit www.clinicaltrials.gov for more information.
EU Indications and Important Safety Information about Tepkinly® (epcoritamab)
Indications
Tepkinly (epcoritamab) as monotherapy is indicated for the treatment of adult patients with relapsed or refractory diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) after two or more lines of systemic therapy.
Tepkinly as monotherapy is indicated for the treatment of adult patients with relapsed or refractory follicular lymphoma (FL) after two or more lines of systemic therapy.
See Tepkinly® full Summary of Product Characteristics (SmPC) at www.ema.europa.eu
Globally, prescribing information varies; refer to the individual country product label for complete information.
About Genmab
Genmab is an international biotechnology company with a core purpose of guiding its unstoppable team to strive toward improving the lives of patients with innovative and differentiated antibody therapeutics. For 25 years, its passionate, innovative and collaborative team has invented next-generation antibody technology platforms and leveraged translational, quantitative and data sciences, resulting in a proprietary pipeline including bispecific T-cell engagers, antibody-drug conjugates, next-generation immune checkpoint modulators and effector function-enhanced antibodies. By 2030, Genmab’s vision is to transform the lives of people with cancer and other serious diseases with knock-your-socks-off (KYSO®) antibody medicines.
Established in 1999, Genmab is headquartered in Copenhagen, Denmark, with international presence across North America, Europe and Asia Pacific. For more information, please visit Genmab.com and follow us on LinkedIn and X.
i Lymphoma Research Foundation official website. https://lymphoma.org/aboutlymphoma/nhl/fl/. Accessed February 2024.
ii Ghione P, Palomba ML, Ghesquieres H, et al. Treatment patterns and outcomes in relapsed/refractory follicular lymphoma: results from the international SCHOLAR-5 study. Haematologica. 2023;108(3):822-832. doi: 10.3324/haematol.2022.281421.
iii Lymphoma Research Foundation official website. https://lymphoma.org/understanding-lymphoma/aboutlymphoma/nhl/follicular-lymphoma/relapsedfl/. Accessed February 2024.
iv Kuruvilla J, Ewara EM, Elia-Pacitti J, et al. Estimating the Burden of Illness of Relapsed Follicular Lymphoma and Marginal Zone Lymphoma in Ontario, Canada. Curr Oncol. 2023;30(5):4663-4676. doi:10.3390/curroncol30050352
v Rivas‐Delgado, A., Magnano, L., Moreno‐Velázquez, et al. Response duration and survival shorten after each relapse in patients with follicular lymphoma treated in the rituximab era. Br J Haematol. 2018;184(5):753-759. doi:10.1111/bjh.15708
vi Engelberts PJ, Hiemstra IH, de Jong B, et al. DuoBody-CD3xCD20 induces potent T-cell-mediated killing of malignant B cells in preclinical models and provides opportunities for subcutaneous dosing. EBioMedicine. 2020;52:102625. doi: 10.1016/j.ebiom.2019.102625.
SOURCE: Genmab
Post Views: 1,888
- TEPKINLYis the first and only subcutaneous bispecific antibody approved as a monotherapy in the European Union to treat both relapsed or refractory (R/R) follicular lymphoma (FL) and R/R diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL), after two or more lines of systemic therapy
COPENHAGEN, Denmark I August 19, 2024 I Genmab A/S (Nasdaq: GMAB) today announced that the European Commission (EC) has granted conditional marketing authorization for TEPKINLY® (epcoritamab) as a monotherapy for the treatment of adult patients with relapsed or refractory (R/R) follicular lymphoma (FL) after two or more lines of systemic therapy. TEPKINLY is the first and only subcutaneous T-cell engaging bispecific antibody approved for the treatment of this patient population in the European Union (EU), as well as the European Economic Area (EEA) countries (Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway) and Northern Ireland.
“Follicular lymphoma can be challenging to treat and today’s approval of TEPKINLY for the treatment of relapsed/refractory follicular lymphoma after two or more lines of systemic therapy marks an important milestone for patients in the European Union who are in need of more options offering a balance of meaningful efficacy and favorable safety,” said Jan van de Winkel, Ph.D., President and Chief Executive Officer of Genmab. “Alongside our partner AbbVie, we are committed to exploring the continued development of epcoritamab as a potential core therapy across B-cell malignancies.”
FL is typically a slow-growing form of Hodgkin’s lymphoma (NHL) that arises from B-cell lymphocytes. FL is the second most common form of NHL overall, accounting for 20-30 percent of all NHL cases, and represents 10-20 percent of all lymphomas in the western world.i FL is considered incurable, and there is no standard of care treatment for third-line or later FL.i,ii Patients who achieve remission also often experience relapse.iii,iv,v
The conditional marketing authorization is supported by data from the Phase 1/2 EPCORE® NHL-1 clinical trial: an open-label, multi-cohort, multicenter, single-arm trial that evaluated TEPKINLY as monotherapy in patients with R/R FL after two or more lines of prior systemic therapy. Patients included in the study were refractory to both anti-CD20 monoclonal antibody therapy and an alkylating agent (70% having double refractory disease), patients who were refractory to last prior treatment (82%), and patients whose disease progressed within two years of initiating first systemic therapy (52%). The results published in the Lancet Haematology showed that patients treated with TEPKINLY (n=128) had an overall response rate (ORR) of 83% and a complete response (CR) rate of 63%. At a median follow-up of 16.2 months, the median duration of response was 21.4 months (13.7, NR). Duration of complete response (DOCR) was not reached.
The study included a planned separate optimization cohort, which evaluated 86 patients with the recommended 3-step-up doses for cytokine release syndrome (CRS) mitigation. Hospitalization was not mandatory in the cycle 1 optimization cohort. With the optimized regimen, 40% of patients experienced Grade 1 CRS and 9% experienced Grade 2 (no Grade 3 or higher CRS were reported). No immune effector cell-associated neurotoxicity syndrome (ICANS) cases were reported in this cohort.
The safety profile of epcoritamab in the pivotal cohort was similar to reports of epcoritamab monotherapy in the pivotal EPCORE NHL-1 diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) cohort. In the pooled safety population (n=382), the most common adverse reactions (≥ 20%) with TEPKINLY were CRS, injection site reactions, fatigue, viral infection, neutropenia, musculoskeletal pain, pyrexia, and diarrhea. The most frequent serious adverse reaction (≥ 10%) was cytokine release syndrome (34%). Fourteen patients (3.7%) experienced a fatal adverse reaction (pneumonia in 9 (2.4%) patients, viral infection in 4 (1.0%) patients, and ICANS in 1 (0.3%) patient.
“The approval of epcoritamab by the European Commission is a promising update for the lymphoma community,” said Kate Rogers, CEO of the Follicular Lymphoma Foundation. “Given that relapsed or refractory follicular lymphoma can be a very challenging form of cancer to treat, especially in later lines of therapy, it is critical that patients and physicians have additional options when it comes to treating this type of cancer.”
About the EPCORE® NHL-1 Trial
EPCORE® NHL-1 is an open-label, multi-center safety and preliminary efficacy trial of epcoritamab that consists of three parts: a dose escalation part; an expansion part; and an optimization part. The trial was designed to evaluate subcutaneous epcoritamab in patients with relapsed or refractory B-cell non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma (B-NHL), including FL. In the expansion part, additional patients were enrolled to further explore the safety and efficacy of epcoritamab in three cohorts of patients with different types of relapsed/refractory B-NHLs who have limited therapeutic options. The expansion part generated pivotal data from patients with FL and DLBCL. The optimization part evaluated additional CRS mitigation strategies during cycle 1. The primary endpoint of the expansion part was overall response rate (ORR) as assessed by an Independent Review Committee (IRC). Secondary efficacy endpoints included duration of response, complete response rate, duration of complete response, progression-free survival, and time to response as determined by the Lugano criteria. Overall survival, time to next therapy, and rate of minimal residual disease negativity were also evaluated as secondary efficacy endpoints. The primary endpoint of the optimization part was the rate of ≥ Grade 2 CRS events and all grade CRS events from first dose of epcoritamab through 7 days following administration of the second full dose of epcoritamab.
About Epcoritamab
Epcoritamab is an IgG1-bispecific antibody created using Genmab’s proprietary DuoBody® technology and administered subcutaneously. Genmab’s DuoBody-CD3 technology is designed to direct cytotoxic T cells selectively to elicit an immune response toward target cell types. Epcoritamab is designed to simultaneously bind to CD3 on T cells and CD20 on B cells and induces T-cell-mediated killing of CD20+ cells.vi
Epcoritamab (approved under the brand name EPKINLY in the U.S. and Japan, and TEPKINLY in the EU) has received regulatory approval in certain lymphoma indications in several territories. Epcoritamab is being co-developed by Genmab and AbbVie as part of the companies’ oncology collaboration. The companies will share commercial responsibilities in the U.S. and Japan, with AbbVie responsible for further global commercialization. Both companies will pursue additional international regulatory approvals for the investigational R/R FL indication and additional approvals for the R/R DLBCL indication.
Genmab and AbbVie continue to evaluate the use of epcoritamab as a monotherapy, and in combination, across lines of therapy in a range of hematologic malignancies. This includes four ongoing Phase 3, open-label, randomized trials including a trial evaluating epcoritamab as a monotherapy in patients with R/R DLBCL compared to investigators choice chemotherapy (NCT04628494), a trial evaluating epcoritamab in combination with R-CHOP in adult participants with newly diagnosed DLBCL (NCT05578976), a trial evaluating epcoritamab in combination with rituximab and lenalidomide (R2) in patients with R/R FL (NCT05409066), and a trial evaluating epcoritamab in combination with rituximab and lenalidomide (R2) compared to chemoimmunotherapy in patients with previously untreated FL (NCT06191744). The safety and efficacy of epcoritamab has not been established for these investigational uses. Please visit www.clinicaltrials.gov for more information.
EU Indications and Important Safety Information about Tepkinly® (epcoritamab)
Indications
Tepkinly (epcoritamab) as monotherapy is indicated for the treatment of adult patients with relapsed or refractory diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) after two or more lines of systemic therapy.
Tepkinly as monotherapy is indicated for the treatment of adult patients with relapsed or refractory follicular lymphoma (FL) after two or more lines of systemic therapy.
See Tepkinly® full Summary of Product Characteristics (SmPC) at www.ema.europa.eu
Globally, prescribing information varies; refer to the individual country product label for complete information.
About Genmab
Genmab is an international biotechnology company with a core purpose of guiding its unstoppable team to strive toward improving the lives of patients with innovative and differentiated antibody therapeutics. For 25 years, its passionate, innovative and collaborative team has invented next-generation antibody technology platforms and leveraged translational, quantitative and data sciences, resulting in a proprietary pipeline including bispecific T-cell engagers, antibody-drug conjugates, next-generation immune checkpoint modulators and effector function-enhanced antibodies. By 2030, Genmab’s vision is to transform the lives of people with cancer and other serious diseases with knock-your-socks-off (KYSO®) antibody medicines.
Established in 1999, Genmab is headquartered in Copenhagen, Denmark, with international presence across North America, Europe and Asia Pacific. For more information, please visit Genmab.com and follow us on LinkedIn and X.
i Lymphoma Research Foundation official website. https://lymphoma.org/aboutlymphoma/nhl/fl/. Accessed February 2024.
ii Ghione P, Palomba ML, Ghesquieres H, et al. Treatment patterns and outcomes in relapsed/refractory follicular lymphoma: results from the international SCHOLAR-5 study. Haematologica. 2023;108(3):822-832. doi: 10.3324/haematol.2022.281421.
iii Lymphoma Research Foundation official website. https://lymphoma.org/understanding-lymphoma/aboutlymphoma/nhl/follicular-lymphoma/relapsedfl/. Accessed February 2024.
iv Kuruvilla J, Ewara EM, Elia-Pacitti J, et al. Estimating the Burden of Illness of Relapsed Follicular Lymphoma and Marginal Zone Lymphoma in Ontario, Canada. Curr Oncol. 2023;30(5):4663-4676. doi:10.3390/curroncol30050352
v Rivas‐Delgado, A., Magnano, L., Moreno‐Velázquez, et al. Response duration and survival shorten after each relapse in patients with follicular lymphoma treated in the rituximab era. Br J Haematol. 2018;184(5):753-759. doi:10.1111/bjh.15708
vi Engelberts PJ, Hiemstra IH, de Jong B, et al. DuoBody-CD3xCD20 induces potent T-cell-mediated killing of malignant B cells in preclinical models and provides opportunities for subcutaneous dosing. EBioMedicine. 2020;52:102625. doi: 10.1016/j.ebiom.2019.102625.
SOURCE: Genmab
Post Views: 1,888
