Roche (SIX: RO, ROG; OTCQX: RHHBY) announced that the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has accepted the company's supplemental Biologics License Application (sBLA) and granted Priority Review for Tecentriq® (atezolizumab), in combination with carboplatin and etoposide (chemotherapy), for the initial (first-line) treatment of people with extensive-stage small cell lung cancer (ES - SCLC). The FDA is expected to make a decision on approval by 18 March 2019. A Priority Review designation is granted to medicines that the FDA has determined to have the potential to provide significant improvements in the treatment, prevention or diagnosis of a serious disease.
"It's been more than 20 years since there has been a new initial treatment option for extensive-stage small cell lung cancer that delivers a clinically meaningful survival benefit," said Sandra Horning, MD, Chief Medical Officer and Head of Global Product Development. "We are working closely with the FDA to bring this Tecentriq-based regimen to people with this difficult-to-treat type of lung cancer as soon as possible."
This sBLA is based on results from the Phase III IMpower133 study, which met its co-primary endpoints of overall survival (OS) and progression-free survival (PFS) in the initial treatment of people with ES-SCLC. The safety profile of the combination was consistent with the safety profiles of the individual medicines, and no new safety signals were identified.
Tecentriq is currently approved by the FDA to treat people with metastatic non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) who have disease progression during or following platinum-containing chemotherapy, and have progressed on an appropriate FDA-approved targeted therapy if their tumour has ALK or EGFR gene abnormalities.
About the IMpower133 study
IMpower133 is a Phase III, multicentre, double-blinded, randomised placebo-controlled study evaluating the efficacy and safety of Tecentriq in combination with carboplatin and etoposide versus chemotherapy (carboplatin plus etoposide) alone in chemotherapy-naïve people with ES-SCLC. The study enrolled 403 people who were randomised equally (1:1) to receive:
Tecentriq in combination with carboplatin and etoposide (Arm A), or
Placebo in combination with carboplatin and etoposide (Arm B, control arm)
During the treatment-induction phase, people received treatment on 21-day cycles for four cycles, followed by maintenance with Tecentriq or placebo until progressive disease (PD) as assessed by the investigator using Response Evaluation Criteria in Solid Tumours Version 1.1 (RECIST v1.1). Treatment could be continued until persistent radiographic PD or symptomatic deterioration was observed.
The co-primary endpoints were:
PFS as determined by the investigator using RECIST v1.1 in the intention-to-treat (ITT) population
OS in the ITT population
IMpower133 met its OS and PFS co-primary endpoints as per the study protocol. The analysis showed that Tecentriq and chemotherapy helped people live significantly longer, compared with chemotherapy alone (OS=12.3 versus 10.3 months; hazard ratio [HR]=0.70; 95% CI: 0.54–0.91; p=0.0069) in the ITT population.[1] The 1-year OS rate for people who received the Tecentriq-based combination was 51.7%, compared with 38.2% for people who received chemotherapy alone. The Tecentriq-based combination also significantly reduced the risk of disease worsening or death (PFS) compared with chemotherapy alone (PFS=5.2 versus 4.3 months; HR=0.77; 95% CI: 0.62–0.96; p=0.017).[1] The 1-year PFS rate for people who received the Tecentriq-based combination was 12.6%, compared with 5.4% for people who received chemotherapy alone. Safety for the Tecentriq and chemotherapy combination appeared to be consistent with the known safety profile of the individual medicines, and no new safety signals were identified with the combination.
Grade 3-4 treatment-related adverse events ...
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