Submission based on Phase III PAOLA-1 trial for patients with advanced ovarian cancer regardless of biomarker status or surgical outcome

LONDON, UK I January 13, 2020 I AstraZeneca and Merck & Co., Inc., Kenilworth, N.J., US (Merck: known as MSD outside the US and Canada) today announced that a supplemental New Drug Application for LYNPARZA® (olaparib) in combination with bevacizumab has been accepted and granted Priority Review in the US for the maintenance treatment of patients with advanced ovarian cancer who are in complete or partial response to 1st-line platinum-based chemotherapy with bevacizumab. A Prescription Drug User Fee Act (PDUFA) date is set for the second quarter of 2020.

The Priority Review by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) was based on results from the pivotal Phase III PAOLA-1 trial, which were published in The New England Journal of Medicine. The trial compared LYNPARZA when added to standard-of-care (SoC) bevacizumab vs. bevacizumab alone in patients with advanced ovarian cancer in the 1st-line maintenance setting, regardless of their genetic biomarker status or outcome from previous surgery.

The investigator-assessed results showed LYNPARZA added to bevacizumab reduced the risk of disease progression or death by 41% based on a hazard ratio of 0.59; (95% CI, 0.49 to 0.72; P<0.001) and improved progression-free survival (PFS) to a median of 22.1 months vs. 16.6 months for patients treated with bevacizumab alone. The safety and tolerability profiles of LYNPARZA and bevacizumab were consistent with previous trials for each medicine

The most common adverse events (AEs) ≥20% for LYNPARZA plus bevacizumab compared to bevacizumab alone were fatigue (53% vs. 32%), nausea (53% vs. 22%), hypertension (46% vs. 60%), anemia (41% vs. 10%), lymphopenia (24% vs. 9%), vomiting (22% vs. 11%) and arthralgia (22% vs. 24%). Overall Grade 3 or above (AEs) were 57% for LYNPARZA added to bevacizumab and 51% for bevacizumab alone. Grade 3 or above AEs were hypertension (19% vs. 30%), anemia (17% vs. <1%), lymphopenia (7% vs. 1%), fatigue (5% vs. 1%), neutropenia (6% vs 3%), nausea (2% vs. 1%), diarrhea (2% each), leukopenia (2% vs. 1%), vomiting (1% vs. 2%) and abdominal pain (1% vs. 2%). AEs led to dose interruption in 54% of patients on LYNPARZA plus bevacizumab vs. 24% on bevacizumab alone, while 41% of patients on LYNPARZA plus bevacizumab had a dose reduction vs. 7% on bevacizumab alone. Discontinuation of treatment occurred in 20% of patients on LYNPARZA plus bevacizumab discontinued treatment vs. 6% on bevacizumab alone.

LYNPARZA is the only PARP inhibitor with two positive randomized Phase III trials in the 1st-line maintenance setting for advanced ovarian cancer. It is the only PARP inhibitor approved in the US as a 1st-line maintenance treatment for women with BRCA-mutated advanced ovarian cancer after response to 1st-line platinum-based chemotherapy, based on the SOLO-1 trial. If approved, this would be the fourth indication for ovarian cancer patients in the US for LYNPARZA.  Lynparza is not currently approved in combination with bevacizumab for first-line maintenance treatment in advanced ovarian cancer.

INDICATIONS

LYNPARZA is a poly (ADP-ribose) polymerase (PARP) inhibitor indicated:

First-Line Maintenance BRCAm Advanced Ovarian Cancer
For the maintenance treatment of adult patients with deleterious or suspected deleterious germline or somatic BRCA-mutated (gBRCAm or sBRCAm) advanced epithelial ovarian, fallopian tube, or primary peritoneal cancer who are in complete or partial response to first-line platinum-based chemotherapy. Select patients for therapy based on an FDA-approved companion diagnostic for LYNPARZA.

Maintenance Recurrent Ovarian Cancer
For the maintenance treatment of adult patients with recurrent epithelial ovarian, fallopian tube, or primary peritoneal cancer, who are in complete or partial response to platinum-based chemotherapy.

Advanced gBRCAm Ovarian Cancer
For the treatment of adult patients with deleterious or suspected deleterious germline BRCA-mutated (gBRCAm) advanced ovarian cancer who have been treated with 3 or more prior lines of chemotherapy. Select patients for therapy based on an FDA-approved companion diagnostic for LYNPARZA.

gBRCAm, HER2-Negative Metastatic Breast Cancer
In patients with deleterious or suspected deleterious gBRCAm, human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2)-negative metastatic breast cancer who have been treated with chemotherapy in the neoadjuvant, adjuvant, or metastatic setting. Patients with hormone receptor (HR)-positive breast cancer should have been treated with a prior endocrine therapy or be considered inappropriate for endocrine therapy. Select patients for therapy based on an FDA-approved companion diagnostic for LYNPARZA.

First-Line Maintenance gBRCAm Metastatic Pancreatic Cancer
For the maintenance treatment of adult patients with deleterious or suspected deleterious gBRCAm metastatic pancreatic adenocarcinoma whose disease has not progressed on at least 16 weeks of a first-line platinum-based chemotherapy regimen. Select patients for therapy based on an FDA-approved companion diagnostic for LYNPARZA.

Please see complete Prescribing Information, including Patient Information (Medication Guide).

NOTES TO EDITORS

About Ovarian Cancer
Approximately 22,000 women in the United States are diagnosed with ovarian cancer (including ovarian, fallopian tube and primary peritoneal cancers) each year. Among women in the United States, it is the ninth most common cancer and the fifth leading cause of cancer death. The risk of developing ovarian cancer is increased in women with specific inherited genetic abnormalities, including BRCA mutations.  

AstraZeneca is committed to the continued development of our R&D portfolio for ovarian cancer, with a focus on improved care for all patients.

About PAOLA-1
PAOLA-1 is a double-blind Phase III trial testing the efficacy and safety of LYNPARZA (300 mg twice daily) added to SoC bevacizumab vs. bevacizumab alone, as a 1st-line maintenance treatment for newly diagnosed advanced FIGO Stage III-IV high grade serous or endometroid ovarian, fallopian tube, or peritoneal cancer patients who had a complete or partial response to 1st-line treatment with platinum-based chemotherapy and bevacizumab.

PAOLA-1 is an ENGOT (European Network of Gynaecological Oncological Trial groups) trial, sponsored by ARCAGY Research (Association de Recherche sur les CAncers dont GYnécologiques) on behalf of GINECO (Groupe d’Investigateurs National des Etudes des Cancers Ovariens et du sein). ARCAGY-GINECO is an academic group specialising in clinical and translational research in patients’ cancers and a member of the GCIG (Gynecologic Cancer InterGroup).

About LYNPARZA
LYNPARZA® (olaparib) is a first-in-class PARP inhibitor and the first targeted treatment to block DNA damage response (DDR) in cells/tumors harboring a deficiency in homologous recombination repair, such as mutations in BRCA1 and/or BRCA2. Inhibition of PARP with LYNPARZA leads to the trapping of PARP bound to DNA single-strand breaks, stalling of replication forks, their collapse and the generation of DNA double-strand breaks and cancer cell death. LYNPARZA is being tested in a range of PARP-dependent tumor types with defects and dependencies in the DDR pathway.

LYNPARZA, which is being jointly developed and commercialized by AstraZeneca and Merck, has a broad and advanced clinical trial development program, and AstraZeneca and Merck are working together to understand how it may affect multiple PARP-dependent tumors as a monotherapy and in combination across multiple cancer types. LYNPARZA is being tested in a range of DDR-deficient tumor types and is the foundation of AstraZeneca’s industry-leading portfolio of compounds targeting DDR mechanisms in cancer cells.

About the AstraZeneca and Merck Strategic Oncology Collaboration
In July 2017, AstraZeneca and Merck & Co., Inc., Kenilworth, NJ, US, known as MSD outside the United States and Canada, announced a global strategic oncology collaboration to co-develop and co-commercialize LYNPARZA, the world’s first PARP inhibitor, and potential new medicine selumetinib, a MEK inhibitor, for multiple cancer types. Working together, the companies will develop LYNPARZA and selumetinib in combination with other potential new medicines and as monotherapies. Independently, the companies will develop LYNPARZA and selumetinib in combination with their respective PD-L1 and PD-1 medicines.

About AstraZeneca in Oncology
AstraZeneca has a deep-rooted heritage in Oncology and offers a quickly growing portfolio of new medicines that has the potential to transform patients’ lives and the Company’s future. With at least six new medicines to be launched between 2014 and 2020, and a broad pipeline of small molecules and biologics in development, we are committed to advance Oncology as a key growth driver for AstraZeneca focused on lung, ovarian, breast and blood cancers. In addition to our core capabilities, we actively pursue innovative partnerships and investments that accelerate the delivery of our strategy, as illustrated by our investment in Acerta Pharma in hematology.

By harnessing the power of four scientific platforms – Immuno-Oncology, Tumor Drivers and Resistance, DNA Damage Response and Antibody Drug Conjugates – and by championing the development of personalized combinations, AstraZeneca has the vision to redefine cancer treatment and one day eliminate cancer as a cause of death.

About AstraZeneca
AstraZeneca (LSE/STO/NYSE: AZN) is a global, science-led biopharmaceutical company that focuses on the discovery, development and commercialization of prescription medicines, primarily for the treatment of diseases in three therapy areas – Oncology, Cardiovascular, Renal and Metabolism, and Respiratory. AstraZeneca operates in over 100 countries and its innovative medicines are used by millions of patients worldwide. Please visit astrazeneca.us.com and follow the Company on Twitter @AstraZenecaUS.

SOURCE: AstraZeneca