European Union regulatory submission planned by end of 2021
TARRYTOWN, NY, USA I September 28, 2021 I Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ: REGN) today announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has accepted for priority review the supplemental Biologics License Application (sBLA) for PD-1 inhibitor Libtayo® (cemiplimab-rwlc) to treat patients with recurrent or metastatic cervical cancer whose disease progressed on or after chemotherapy. The target action date for the FDA decision is January 30, 2022. The sBLA is also being reviewed under the FDA’s Project Orbis initiative, which will allow for concurrent review by participating health authorities in Australia, Brazil, Canada and Switzerland. Additional global regulatory submissions are planned, including in the European Union (EU) by the end of 2021.
The sBLA is supported by results from a Phase 3 trial that enrolled patients irrespective of
PD-L1 expression status and is being conducted with The GOG Foundation, Inc. (GOG), the European Network for Gynaecological Oncological Trial groups (ENGOT) and NRG Oncology-Japan. Detailed results were first presented as part of a European Society for Medical Oncology (ESMO) Virtual Plenary in May 2021.
Cervical cancer is the fourth leading cause of cancer death in women worldwide and is most frequently diagnosed in those between the ages of 35 and 44. Almost all cases are caused by human papillomavirus (HPV) infection, with approximately 80% classified as squamous cell carcinoma (SCC; arising from cells lining the bottom of the cervix) and the remainder being largely adenocarcinomas (arising from glandular cells in the upper cervix). Cervical cancer is often curable when detected early and effectively managed, but treatment options are more limited in advanced stages.
It is estimated that approximately 570,000 people are diagnosed with cervical cancer worldwide each year, with deaths exceeding 250,000. In the U.S. there are 14,500 new cases diagnosed annually and approximately 4,000 die each year.
Libtayo, which was invented using Regeneron’s proprietary VelocImmune® technology, is being jointly developed by Regeneron and Sanofi under a global collaboration agreement. The use of Libtayo in advanced cervical cancer is investigational, and its safety and efficacy have not been fully evaluated by any regulatory authority.
About the Phase 3 Trial
The Phase 3, open-label, multi-center trial, known as EMPOWER-Cervical 1, is the largest randomized clinical trial in advanced cervical cancer. The trial investigated Libtayo monotherapy versus an investigator’s choice of chemotherapy in patients with recurrent or metastatic cervical cancer who had progressed on platinum-based chemotherapy. Patients were enrolled regardless of tumor PD-L1 expression status or histology in 14 countries, including the U.S., Japan, Taiwan, South Korea, Canada, Russia, Poland, Spain, Brazil, Australia, the UK, Italy, Greece and Belgium.
Patients (median age: 51 years) were randomized to receive Libtayo monotherapy (350 mg every three weeks) or commonly used chemotherapy regimens (pemetrexed, vinorelbine, topotecan, irinotecan or gemcitabine). The primary endpoint for the trial was overall survival, analyzed first among patients with SCC histology, then in the total population.
About Libtayo
Libtayo is a fully human monoclonal antibody targeting the PD-1 immune checkpoint receptor on T-cells. By binding to PD-1, Libtayo has been shown to block cancer cells from using the PD-1 pathway to suppress T-cell activation.
The extensive clinical program for Libtayo is focused on difficult-to-treat cancers. Libtayo is currently being investigated in trials as a monotherapy, as well as in combination with either conventional or novel therapeutic approaches for other solid tumors and blood cancers. These potential uses are investigational, and their safety and efficacy have not been evaluated by any regulatory authority.
About Regeneron’s VelocImmune Technology
Regeneron’s VelocImmune technology utilizes a proprietary genetically engineered mouse platform endowed with a genetically humanized immune system to produce optimized fully human antibodies. When Regeneron’s President and Chief Scientific Officer George D. Yancopoulos was a graduate student with his mentor Frederick W. Alt in 1985, they were the first to envision making such a genetically humanized mouse, and Regeneron has spent decades inventing and developing VelocImmune and related VelociSuite® technologies. Dr. Yancopoulos and his team have used VelocImmune technology to create approximately a quarter of all original, FDA-approved and authorized fully human monoclonal antibodies currently available. This includes REGEN–COV™ (casirivimab with imdevimab), Dupixent® (dupilumab), Libtayo® (cemiplimab-rwlc), Praluent® (alirocumab), Kevzara® (sarilumab), Evkeeza® (evinacumab-dgnb) and Inmazeb™ (atoltivimab, maftivimab and odesivimab-ebgn).
IMPORTANT SAFETY INFORMATION AND INDICATION FOR U.S. PATIENTS
What is Libtayo?
Libtayo is a prescription medicine used to treat people with a type of skin cancer called cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma (CSCC) that has spread or cannot be cured by surgery or radiation.
Libtayo is a prescription medicine used to treat people with a type of skin cancer called basal cell carcinoma that cannot be removed by surgery (locally advanced BCC) and have received treatment with a hedgehog inhibitor (HHI), or cannot receive treatment with an HHI.
Libtayo is a prescription medicine used to treat people with a type of skin cancer called basal cell carcinoma that has spread (metastatic BCC) and have received treatment with an HHI, or cannot receive treatment with an HHI. This use is approved based on how many patients responded to treatment and how long they responded. Studies are ongoing to provide additional information about clinical benefit.
Libtayo is a prescription medicine used to treat people with a type of lung cancer called non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Libtayo may be used as your first treatment when your lung cancer has not spread outside your chest (locally advanced lung cancer) and you cannot have surgery or chemotherapy with radiation, or your lung cancer has spread to other areas of your body (metastatic lung cancer), and your tumor tests positive for high “PD-L1” and your tumor does not have an abnormal “EGFR”,” ALK “or “ROS1” gene.
It is not known if Libtayo is safe and effective in children.
What is the most important information I should know about Libtayo?
Libtayo is a medicine that may treat certain cancers by working with your immune system. Libtayo can cause your immune system to attack normal organs and tissues in any area of your body and can affect the way they work. These problems can sometimes become severe or life-threatening and can lead to death. You can have more than one of these problems at the same time. These problems may happen anytime during treatment or even after your treatment has ended.
Please see full Prescribing Information, including Medication Guide.
About Regeneron
Regeneron (NASDAQ: REGN) is a leading biotechnology company that invents life-transforming medicines for people with serious diseases. Founded and led for over 30 years by physician-scientists, our unique ability to repeatedly and consistently translate science into medicine has led to nine FDA-approved treatments and numerous product candidates in development, almost all of which were homegrown in our laboratories. Our medicines and pipeline are designed to help patients with eye diseases, allergic and inflammatory diseases, cancer, cardiovascular and metabolic diseases, pain, hematologic conditions, infectious diseases and rare diseases.
Regeneron is accelerating and improving the traditional drug development process through our proprietary VelociSuite technologies, such as VelocImmune, which uses unique genetically humanized mice to produce optimized fully human antibodies and bispecific antibodies, and through ambitious research initiatives such as the Regeneron Genetics Center, which is conducting one of the largest genetics sequencing efforts in the world.
For additional information about the company, please visit www.regeneron.com or follow @Regeneron on Twitter.
SOURCE: Regeneron Pharmaceuticals