TARRYTOWN, NY, USA and PARIS, France I January 28, 2022 I Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ: REGN) and Sanofi today announced the voluntary withdrawal of the supplemental Biologics License Application (sBLA) for Libtayo® (cemiplimab-rwlc) as a second-line treatment for patients with advanced cervical cancer. The decision was made after the companies and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) were not able to align on certain post-marketing studies. Discussions with regulatory authorities outside of the U.S. are ongoing.

About Cervical Cancer
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. Since we filed our sBLA, another PD-1 inhibitor was approved as first-line treatment for patients with persistent, recurrent or metastatic cervical tumors that express PD-L1. The use of Libtayo in advanced cervical cancer is not approved by the FDA.

About Libtayo
Libtayo is a fully human monoclonal antibody targeting the immune checkpoint receptor PD-1 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. Libtayo is indicated in certain patients with advanced basal cell carcinoma (BCC), advanced cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma (CSCC), and advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC).

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.

Libtayo, which was invented using Regeneron’s proprietary VelocImmune® technology, is being jointly developed by Regeneron and Sanofi under a global collaboration agreement.

U.S. FDA-approved Indications
Libtayo is a prescription medicine used to treat people with:

  • A type of skin cancer called advanced CSCC that has spread or cannot be cured by surgery or radiation.
  • A type of skin cancer called BCC:
    • 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.
    • 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.
  • A type of lung cancer called 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.

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 or authorized fully human monoclonal antibodies currently available. This includes REGEN-COV®(casirivimab and imdevimab), Dupixent® (dupilumab), Libtayo® (cemiplimab-rwlc), Praluent®(alirocumab), Kevzara® (sarilumab), Evkeeza® (evinacumab-dgnb) and Inmazeb™ (atoltivimab, maftivimab, and odesivimab-ebgn).

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.

About Sanofi 
Sanofi is dedicated to supporting people through their health challenges. We are a global biopharmaceutical company focused on human health. We prevent illness with vaccines, provide innovative treatments to fight pain and ease suffering. We stand by the few who suffer from rare diseases and the millions with long-term chronic conditions. 

With more than 100,000 people in 100 countries, Sanofi is transforming scientific innovation into healthcare solutions around the globe. 

SOURCE: Regeneron Pharmaceuticals