CAMBRIDGE, MA, USA I January 04, 2021 I Amylyx Pharmaceuticals, Inc. today announced it has submitted a Marketing Authorization Application (MAA) to the European Medicines Agency’s (EMA) Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use (CHMP) for AMX0035 (sodium phenylbutyrate (PB) and ursodoxicoltaurine (TURSO; also known as taurursodiol)) for the treatment of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS).

The MAA submission to the EMA is based on data from the CENTAUR trial, a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled Phase 2 clinical trial conducted at 25 centers of the Northeast ALS Consortium (NEALS), evaluating 137 adults with ALS. In this trial, participants receiving AMX0035 demonstrated a statistically significant reduction in clinical decline at the end of the 6-month randomized phase as measured by the Revised ALS Functional Rating Scale (ALSFRS-R), the most widely used scale in clinical practice and in ALS clinical trials.

In a survival analysis conducted in all randomized participants from the CENTAUR trial who were followed for up to three years, which included participants who continued to receive AMX0035 in an open-label extension phase during the follow-up period, participants who started on AMX0035 during the placebo-controlled phase of CENTAUR demonstrated a 44% lower risk of death compared to those who started on placebo during the placebo-controlled phase (HR 0.56; 95% CI, 0.34-0.92). Median survival duration through the open-label long-term follow-up phase was 25.0 months (95% CI, 19.0-33.6 months) in the group that started on AMX0035 and 18.5 months (95% CI, 13.5-23.2 months) in the group that started on placebo, a 6.5-month difference.

Overall, reported rates of adverse events and discontinuations were similar between AMX0035 and placebo groups during the 24-week randomized phase; however, gastrointestinal events occurred with greater frequency (≥2%) in the AMX0035 group. Detailed data from CENTAUR is published in the New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM) and Muscle and Nerve.

Marketing Application Reviews and Phase 3 Clinical Trial

Amylyx currently has marketing applications under review for AMX0035 for the treatment of ALS in Canada and the United States.

Enrollment for the global Phase 3 PHOENIX clinical trial (NCT05021536) is underway in the United States and Europe. The trial is designed to provide additional safety and efficacy data for AMX0035 for the treatment of ALS to further support Amylyx’ global regulatory efforts.

About the CENTAUR Trial

CENTAUR was a multicenter Phase 2 clinical trial in 137 participants with ALS encompassing a 6-month randomized placebo-controlled phase and an open-label long-term follow-up phase. The trial met its primary efficacy endpoint of reducing clinical decline as measured by the ALS Functional Rating Scale-Revised (ALSFRS-R).

Overall, reported rates of adverse events and discontinuations were similar between AMX0035 and placebo groups during the 24-week randomized phase; however, GI events occurred with greater frequency (≥2%) in the AMX0035 group.

The CENTAUR trial was funded, in part, by the ALS ACT grant and the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge, and was supported by The ALS Association, ALS Finding a Cure (a program of The Leandro P. Rizzuto Foundation), the Northeast ALS Consortium, and the Sean M. Healey & AMG Center for ALS at Mass General.

About the PHOENIX Trial

The Phase 3 PHOENIX clinical trial (NCT05021536) is a 48-week, randomized placebo-controlled global clinical trial further evaluating the safety and efficacy of AMX0035 (PB/TURSO) for the treatment of ALS. The primary efficacy outcome of the trial will be a composite measure of survival and Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis Functional Rating Scale-Revised (ALSFRS-R) total score progression over 48 weeks and survival and tolerability over 48 weeks. Secondary endpoints include change in slow vital capacity (SVC), measured both at home using a self-administered spirometer to support virtual data collection and at clinic sites using standard spirometry, quality of life patient-reported outcome assessments, ventilation-free survival rates and other measures. More information on the PHOENIX trial can be found at www.clinicaltrials.gov and eudract.ema.europa.eu.

About AMX0035

AMX0035 is a proprietary oral fixed-dose combination of two small molecules: sodium phenylbutyrate (PB), which is a small molecular chaperone designed to reduce the unfolded protein response (UPR), preventing cell death resulting from the UPR, and taurursodiol (TURSO; also known as ursodoxicoltaurine)), which is a Bax inhibitor designed to reduce cell death through apoptosis. PB and TURSO were combined in a fixed-dose formulation in an effort to reduce neuronal death and dysfunction. AMX0035 is designed to target the endoplasmic reticulum and mitochondrial-dependent neuronal degeneration pathways in ALS and other neurodegenerative diseases.

About Amylyx Pharmaceuticals

Amylyx Pharmaceuticals, Inc. is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company working on developing a novel therapeutic for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and other neurodegenerative diseases.

SOURCE: Amylyx Pharmaceuticals