– ADCETRIS in Combination with AVD (Adriamycin, Vinblastine and Dacarbazine) Demonstrated 29-Percent Reduction in the Risk of Progression, Death or Need for Additional Anticancer Therapy for CD30+ Stage IV Patients

– Milestone Marks Fifth Approved Indication for ADCETRIS in Europe, Reinforcing Takeda’s Commitment to Developing Innovative Solutions for People Living with CD30-Positive Malignancies

CAMBRIDGE, MA, USA and OSAKA, Japan I February 11, 2019 I Takeda Pharmaceutical Company Limited (TSE:4502/NYSE:TAK) today announced that the European Commission (EC) extended the current marketing authorization of ADCETRIS (brentuximab vedotin) to include treatment of adult patients with previously untreated CD30+ Stage IV Hodgkin lymphoma in combination with AVD (Adriamycin, vinblastine and dacarbazine). ADCETRIS is an antibody-drug conjugate (ADC) directed at CD30, a defining marker of Hodgkin lymphoma. The decision follows a positive opinion from the Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use (CHMP) on December 13, 2018.

“The decision by the European Commission is a welcomed advancement for patients with previously untreated Stage IV Hodgkin lymphoma – a population that has not been offered a new treatment option in decades,” said Anna Sureda, M.D., Ph.D., Head of the Hematology Department and Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplant Programme, Institut Català d’Oncologia – Hospital Duran i Reynals. “Patients with Stage IV disease carry a higher risk of progression following their first therapy and experience poorer outcomes as a result. The approval of this regimen may help address this unmet need by providing European physicians and their patients with a new option that showed significant benefit compared to ABVD along with a safety profile consistent with when ADCETRIS is used as a single agent.”

“We are pleased that the European Commission has approved ADCETRIS in combination with AVD, which has the potential to represent an important milestone for patients and serves as a testament to Takeda’s longstanding commitment to the Hodgkin lymphoma community,” said Jesús Gómez-Navarro, M.D., Vice President, Head of Oncology Clinical Research and Development, Takeda. “The ECHELON-1 clinical trial demonstrated that the addition of ADCETRIS and the removal of bleomycin from the standard ABVD regimen yielded both efficacy and safety benefits in patients. We look forward to making this therapy available for appropriate European patients with Hodgkin lymphoma.”

The approval is based on the results of the randomized, open-label, two-arm, multi-center Phase 3 ECHELON-1 study designed to compare ADCETRIS plus AVD to ABVD (Adriamycin, bleomycin, vinblastine and dacarbazine) as a therapy in adult patients with previously untreated Hodgkin lymphoma. The trial achieved its primary endpoint resulting in a statistically significant improvement in modified progression-free survival (PFS) versus the control arm (Hazard ratio [HR] 0.77; p-value=0.035), which corresponds to a 23 percent reduction in the risk of progression, death or need for additional anticancer therapy. Key subgroup analyses showed a larger effect in patients with Stage IV Hodgkin lymphoma in the ADCETRIS plus AVD arm versus the control arm (modified PFS; HR 0.71; p-value = 0.023).

The safety profile of ADCETRIS plus AVD in the ECHELON-1 trial was generally consistent with that known for the single-agent components of the regimen. The most common clinically relevant adverse events of any grade that occurred in at least 15 percent of patients in the ADCETRIS plus AVD and ABVD arms were: neutropenia, constipation, vomiting, fatigue, peripheral sensory neuropathy, diarrhea, pyrexia, peripheral neuropathy, abdominal pain and stomatitis. In both the ADCETRIS plus AVD and ABVD arms, the most common Grade 3 or 4 events were neutropenia, febrile neutropenia and neutrophil count decrease.  

This decision by the European Commission means that ADCETRIS in combination with AVD is now approved for marketing of this indication in the 28 member states of the European Union and applicable in Norway, Liechtenstein and Iceland. For further details about the European Commission decision, please visit the European Medicines Agency website: www.ema.europe.eu/ema.

About Hodgkin Lymphoma

Lymphoma is a general term for a group of cancers that originate in the lymphatic system. There are two major categories of lymphoma: Hodgkin lymphoma 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. The Reed-Sternberg cell expresses CD30.

According to the Lymphoma Coalition, approximately 67,000 people worldwide are diagnosed with Hodgkin lymphoma each year and more than 25,000 people die each year from this cancer.

Up to 30 percent of previously untreated Hodgkin lymphoma patients progress following their first therapy depending on the stage of the disease. Only 50 percent of patients with relapsed or refractory Hodgkin lymphoma achieve long-term remission with high-dose chemotherapy and an autologous stem cell transplant (ASCT), a historically used treatment regimen, highlighting the need for successful treatments for previously untreated patients. 

About ADCETRIS

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 Seattle Genetics’ 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.

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 transplant (ASCT) consolidation treatment of Hodgkin lymphoma patients at increased risk of relapse or progression.

ADCETRIS received conditional marketing authorization from the European Commission in October 2012. The approved indications in Europe are: (1) 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, (2) for the treatment of adult patients with relapsed or refractory sALCL, (3) for the treatment of adult patients with CD30-positive Hodgkin lymphoma at increased risk of relapse or progression following ASCT, (4) for the treatment of adult patients with CD30-positive cutaneous T-cell lymphoma (CTCL) after at least one prior systemic therapy and (5) for the treatment of adult patients with previously untreated CD30-positive Stage IV Hodgkin lymphoma in combination with AVD.

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.

Seattle Genetics and Takeda are jointly developing ADCETRIS. Under the terms of the collaboration agreement, Seattle Genetics has U.S. and Canadian commercialization rights and Takeda has rights to commercialize ADCETRIS in the rest of the world. Seattle Genetics 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.

About Takeda Pharmaceutical Company Limited

Takeda Pharmaceutical Company Limited (TSE:4502/NYSE:TAK) is a global, values-based, R&D-driven biopharmaceutical leader headquartered in Japan, committed to bringing Better Health and a Brighter Future to patients by translating science into highly-innovative medicines. Takeda focuses its R&D efforts on four therapeutic areas: Oncology, Gastroenterology (GI), Neuroscience and Rare Diseases. We also make targeted R&D investments in Plasma-Derived Therapies and Vaccines. We are focusing on developing highly innovative medicines that contribute to making a difference in people’s lives by advancing the frontier of new treatment options and leveraging our enhanced collaborative R&D engine and capabilities to create a robust, modality-diverse pipeline. Our employees are committed to improving quality of life for patients and to working with our partners in health care in approximately 80 countries and regions.

For more information, visit https://www.takeda.com.

SOURCE: Takeda Pharmaceutical Co