• Approval Based on Updated Positive Overall Survival Results from the Phase 3 ECHELON-1 Study for Stage III & IV Hodgkin Lymphoma
  • First Significant Improvement in Overall Survival in Two Decades in Stage III & IV Hodgkin Lymphoma
  • Approval Expands on Six Current Indications for ADCETRIS in the European Union

OSAKA, Japan & CAMBRIDGE, MA, USA I October 18, 2023 ITakeda (TSE:4502/NYSE:TAK) today announced that the European Commission (EC) approved ADCETRIS® (brentuximab vedotin) in combination with doxorubicin, vinblastine and dacarbazine (AVD) to treat adult patients with previously untreated CD30+ Stage III Hodgkin lymphoma. ADCETRIS is an antibody-drug conjugate (ADC) directed at CD30, a defining marker of Hodgkin lymphoma, and has been previously approved as a therapy for adult patients in Europe in six distinct indications, including those with previously untreated CD30+ Stage IV Hodgkin lymphoma. The decision follows a positive opinion from the Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use (CHMP) on September 14, 2023.

“We are thrilled with the decision of the European Commission to approve ADCETRIS in combination with chemotherapy as a treatment for adult patients with previously untreated CD30+ Stage III Hodgkin lymphoma, particularly as up to one third of patients with Stage III & IV disease are at risk of experiencing treatment failure with current regimens,” said Awny Farajallah, M.D., head of global medical affairs oncology, Takeda. “These patients now have ADCETRIS as a treatment option, and the significant improvement in survival outcomes that ADCETRIS may provide when added to a frontline treatment regimen, as evidenced by the ECHELON-1 clinical trial data.”

The approval is based on the results of the randomized Phase 3 ECHELON-1 trial designed to compare ADCETRIS plus AVD to doxorubicin, bleomycin, vinblastine, and dacarbazine (ABVD) as a therapy in adult patients with previously untreated Stage III or IV Hodgkin lymphoma. The trial met its primary endpoint of modified progression-free survival (PFS), as well as its key secondary endpoint of overall survival (OS), demonstrating a statistically significant improvement in OS in adult patients with previously untreated Stage III or IV classical Hodgkin lymphoma treated with ADCETRIS+AVD. The safety profile of ADCETRIS was consistent with previous studies, and no new safety signals were observed.

“ECHELON-1 is the first trial to show a statistically significant improvement in overall survival outcomes for adult patients with Stage III & IV Hodgkin lymphoma in two decades, demonstrating the benefit ADCETRIS continues to bring to a broad group of patients,” said John Radford, M.D., FMedSci, University of Manchester and the Christie NHS Foundation, lead investigator of the ECHELON-1 trial. “This approval is an exciting advancement in care, allowing even more lymphoma patients to access the proven efficacy, consistent safety, and tolerability that ADCETRIS is known to deliver.”

The ECHELON-1 trial, which compared the use of ADCETRIS in combination with AVD to ABVD in 1,334 patients with previously untreated Stage III or IV classical Hodgkin lymphoma, had a primary endpoint of modified PFS per independent review facility (IRF). A key secondary endpoint was OS, which was an event-driven, pre-specified, alpha-controlled analysis in the intention-to-treat population.

About Hodgkin Lymphoma

Lymphoma is a general term for a group of cancers that originate in the lymphatic system affecting a type of white blood cell called lymphocytes. There are two major categories of lymphoma: Hodgkin lymphoma (HL) and non-Hodgkin lymphoma. Hodgkin lymphoma is distinguished from other types of lymphoma by the presence of one characteristic type of cell, known as the Reed-Sternberg cell present in lymph nodes. Reed-Sternberg cells usually have a special protein on their surface called CD30, which is a key marker of HL. CD30 is present in approximately 95 percent of all cases of Hodgkin lymphoma.

According to the American Cancer Society, approximately 8,540 cases of Hodgkin lymphoma will be diagnosed in the United States during 2022 and more than 900 will die from the disease. According to the International Agency for Research on Cancer, as of 2020, over 83,000 people worldwide were diagnosed with Hodgkin lymphoma and approximately 23,000 people died from this cancer.

About ADCETRIS® (brentuximab vedotin)

ADCETRIS is an antibody-drug conjugate (ADC) comprising an anti-CD30 monoclonal antibody attached by a protease-cleavable linker to a microtubule disrupting agent, monomethyl auristatin E (MMAE), utilizing Seagen’s proprietary technology. The ADC employs a linker system that is designed to be stable in the bloodstream but to release MMAE upon internalization into CD30-positive tumor cells.

ADCETRIS injection for intravenous infusion has received FDA approval for six indications in adult patients with: (1) previously untreated systemic anaplastic large cell lymphoma (sALCL) or other CD30-expressing peripheral T-cell lymphomas (PTCL), including angioimmunoblastic T-cell lymphoma and PTCL not otherwise specified, in combination with cyclophosphamide, doxorubicin, and prednisone, (2) previously untreated Stage III or IV classical Hodgkin lymphoma (cHL), in combination with doxorubicin, vinblastine, and dacarbazine, (3) cHL at high risk of relapse or progression as post-autologous hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (auto-HSCT) consolidation, (4) cHL after failure of auto-HSCT or failure of at least two prior multi-agent chemotherapy regimens in patients who are not auto-HSCT candidates, (5) sALCL after failure of at least one prior multi-agent chemotherapy regimen, and (6) primary cutaneous anaplastic large cell lymphoma (pcALCL) or CD30-expressing mycosis fungoides (MF) who have received prior systemic therapy. ADCETRIS has also received FDA approval for the treatment of pediatric patients 2 years and older with previously untreated high risk classical Hodgkin lymphoma (cHL), in combination with doxorubicin, vincristine, etoposide, prednisone, and cyclophosphamide.

Health Canada granted ADCETRIS approval with conditions for relapsed or refractory Hodgkin lymphoma and sALCL in 2013, and non-conditional approval for post-autologous stem cell transplantation (ASCT) consolidation treatment of Hodgkin lymphoma patients at increased risk of relapse or progression in 2017, adults with pcALCL or CD30-expressing MF who have had prior systemic therapy in 2018, for previously untreated Stage IV Hodgkin lymphoma in combination with doxorubicin, vinblastine, and dacarbazine in 2019, and for previously untreated adult patients with sALCL, peripheral T-cell lymphoma-not otherwise specified (PTCL-NOS) or angioimmunoblastic T-cell lymphoma (AITL), whose tumors express CD30, in combination with cyclophosphamide, doxorubicin, prednisone in 2019.

ADCETRIS received conditional marketing authorization from the European Commission in October 2012, and the specific obligations of the conditional marketing authorization were fulfilled in May 2022. The approved indications in the European Union are: (1) for the treatment of adult patients with previously untreated CD30-positive Stage III & IV Hodgkin lymphoma in combination with doxorubicin, vinblastine and dacarbazine (AVD), (2) for the treatment of adult patients with CD30-positive Hodgkin lymphoma at increased risk of relapse or progression following ASCT, (3) for the treatment of adult patients with relapsed or refractory CD30-positive Hodgkin lymphoma following ASCT, or following at least two prior therapies when ASCT or multi-agent chemotherapy is not a treatment option, (4) for the treatment of adult patients with relapsed or refractory sALCL, (5) for the treatment of adult patients with previously untreated sALCL in combination with CHP and (6) for the treatment of adult patients with CD30-positive cutaneous T-cell lymphoma (CTCL) after at least one prior systemic therapy.

ADCETRIS has received marketing authorization by regulatory authorities in more than 70 countries for relapsed or refractory Hodgkin lymphoma and sALCL. See Important Safety Information below.

ADCETRIS is being evaluated broadly in more than 70 clinical trials, including a Phase 3 study in first-line Hodgkin lymphoma (ECHELON-1) and another Phase 3 study in first-line CD30-positive peripheral T-cell lymphomas (ECHELON-2), as well as trials in many additional types of CD30-positive malignancies.

Seagen and Takeda are jointly developing ADCETRIS. Under the terms of the collaboration agreement, Seagen has U.S. and Canadian commercialization rights and Takeda has rights to commercialize ADCETRIS in the rest of the world. Seagen and Takeda are funding joint development costs for ADCETRIS on a 50:50 basis, except in Japan where Takeda is solely responsible for development costs.

Please see the full Prescribing Information, including BOXED WARNING, for ADCETRIS here.

About Takeda

Takeda is focused on creating better health for people and a brighter future for the world. We aim to discover and deliver life-transforming treatments in our core therapeutic and business areas, including gastrointestinal and inflammation, rare diseases, plasma-derived therapies, oncology, neuroscience and vaccines. Together with our partners, we aim to improve the patient experience and advance a new frontier of treatment options through our dynamic and diverse pipeline. As a leading values-based, R&D-driven biopharmaceutical company headquartered in Japan, we are guided by our commitment to patients, our people and the planet. Our employees in approximately 80 countries and regions are driven by our purpose and are grounded in the values that have defined us for more than two centuries. For more information, visit www.takeda.com.

SOURCE: Takeda Pharmaceutical Company