Dupixent® sBLA accepted for FDA Priority Review for treatment of COPD with type 2 inflammation
- Priority Review granted based on positive results from two Phase 3 trials
- If approved, Dupixent would be the only biologic therapy for COPD and the first new treatment approach for the disease in more than a decade
- Regulatory submissions are also under review in China and Europe
Paris and Tarrytown, N.Y. February 23, 2024. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has accepted for Priority Review the supplemental Biologics License Application (sBLA) for Dupixent® (dupilumab) in a sixth potential indication as an add-on maintenance treatment in certain adult patients with uncontrolled chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). The target action date for the FDA decision is June 27, 2024. Regulatory submissions are also under review in China and the European Union.
The sBLA, as well as other submissions around the world, is supported by data from the Phase 3 COPD clinical research program evaluating the efficacy and safety of Dupixent in adults who were current or former smokers with uncontrolled COPD with evidence of type 2 inflammation (screening blood eosinophils >300 cells/microliter). All patients were on background maximal standard-of-care inhaled therapy (nearly all on triple therapy). The primary endpoint was met in both trials (BOREAS, NOTUS), showing Dupixent significantly reduced moderate or severe acute COPD exacerbations by 30% and 34% respectively, compared to placebo. In both trials, Dupixent also rapidly and significantly improved lung function compared to placebo, with improvements sustained at 52 weeks.
Safety results in both trials were generally consistent with the known safety profile of Dupixent in its approved indications. Adverse events more commonly observed with Dupixent (≥5%) compared to placebo in either trial were back pain, COVID-19, diarrhea, headache and nasopharyngitis.
Priority Review is granted to regulatory applications seeking approval for therapies that have the potential to provide significant improvements in the treatment, diagnosis or prevention of serious conditions. The potential use of Dupixent in COPD is currently under clinical development, and its safety and efficacy for this indication have not been fully evaluated by any regulatory authority.
About COPD
COPD is a respiratory disease that damages the lungs and causes progressive lung function decline. Symptoms include persistent cough, breathlessness and excessive mucus production that may not only impair the ability to perform routine daily activities, but can also lead to anxiety, depression and sleep disturbances. COPD is also associated with a significant health and economic burden due to recurrent acute exacerbations that require systemic corticosteroid treatment and/or lead to hospitalization. Smoking and exposure to noxious particles are key risk factors for COPD, but even individuals who quit smoking can still develop or continue having the disease. There have been no new treatment approaches approved for more than a decade. In the U.S., approximately 300,000 people live with uncontrolled COPD with evidence of type 2 inflammation.
About Sanofi and Regeneron’s COPD Clinical Research Program
Sanofi and Regeneron are motivated to transform the treatment paradigm of COPD by examining the role different types of inflammation play in the disease progression through the investigation of two potentially first-in-class biologics, Dupixent and itepekimab.
Dupixent inhibits the signaling of the interleukin-4 (IL-4) and interleukin-13 (IL-13) pathways and the program focuses on a specific population of people with evidence of type 2 inflammation. Itepekimab is a fully human monoclonal antibody that binds to and inhibits interleukin-33 (IL-33), an initiator and amplifier of broad inflammation in COPD.
Itepekimab is currently under clinical investigation, with two Phase 3 trials currently enrolling, and its safety and efficacy have not been evaluated by any regulatory authority.
About Dupixent
Dupixent is a fully human monoclonal antibody that inhibits the signaling of the interleukin-4 (IL-4) and interleukin-13 (IL-13) pathways and is not an immunosuppressant. The Dupixent development program has shown significant clinical benefit and a decrease in type 2 inflammation in Phase 3 trials, establishing that IL-4 and IL-13 are key and central drivers of the type 2 inflammation that plays a major role in multiple related and often co-morbid diseases. These diseases include approved indications for Dupixent, such as atopic dermatitis, asthma, chronic rhinosinusitis with nasal polyposis (CRSwNP), eosinophilic esophagitis (EoE), prurigo nodularis and chronic spontaneous urticaria (CSU).
Dupixent has received regulatory approvals in one or more countries around the world for use in certain patients with atopic dermatitis, asthma, CRSwNP, EoE, prurigo nodularis and CSU in different age populations. Dupixent is currently approved for one or more of these indications in more than 60 countries, including in Europe, the U.S. and Japan. More than 800,000 patients are being treated with Dupixent globally.
Dupilumab Development Program
Dupilumab is being jointly developed by Sanofi and Regeneron under a global collaboration agreement. To date, dupilumab has been studied across more than 60 clinical trials involving more than 10,000 patients with various chronic diseases driven in part by type 2 inflammation.
In addition to the currently approved indications, Sanofi and Regeneron are studying dupilumab in a broad range of diseases driven by type 2 inflammation or other allergic processes in Phase 3 trials, including chronic spontaneous urticaria, chronic pruritus of unknown origin, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease with evidence of type 2 inflammation and bullous pemphigoid. These potential uses of dupilumab are currently under clinical investigation, and the safety and efficacy in these conditions have not been fully evaluated by any regulatory authority.
About Regeneron
Regeneron (NASDAQ: REGN) is a leading biotechnology company that invents, develops and commercializes life-transforming medicines for people with serious diseases. Founded and led for over 35 years by physician-scientists, our unique ability to repeatedly and consistently translate science into medicine has led to numerous FDA-approved treatments and 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, 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 more information about Regeneron, please visit www.Regeneron.com or follow Regeneron on LinkedIn.
About Sanofi
We are an innovative global healthcare company, driven by one purpose: we chase the miracles of science to improve people’s lives. Our team, across some 100 countries, is dedicated to transforming the practice of medicine by working to turn the impossible into the possible. We provide potentially life-changing treatment options and life-saving vaccine protection to millions of people globally, while putting sustainability and social responsibility at the center of our ambitions.
Sanofi is listed on EURONEXT: SAN and NASDAQ: SNY
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