Genmab's HuMax-CD4 to Treat Lymphoma Awarded Fast Track Status From FDA
March 23 2004 - 8:35AM
PR Newswire (US)
Genmab's HuMax-CD4 to Treat Lymphoma Awarded Fast Track Status From
FDA COPENHAGEN, Denmark, March 23 /PRNewswire/ -- Genmab A/S (CSE:
GEN) announced today that HuMax-CD4 has been designated a Fast
Track Product by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA). This
designation covers patients with cutaneous T-cell lymphoma (CTCL)
who have failed currently available therapy. This patient group
includes those who are refractory as well as those who cannot
tolerate currently available treatment. HuMax-CD4 is currently in
two Phase II studies to treat CTCL. Under the FDA Modernisation Act
of 1997, designation as a Fast Track Product means that the FDA
will facilitate the development and expedite the review of a drug
if it is intendedfor the treatment of a serious or life-
threatening condition, and it demonstrates the potential to address
unmet medical needs for such a condition. This fast track
designation gives Genmab the opportunity to submit a Biologics
License Application (BLA) in sequential sections, and have these
sections reviewed as they are submitted, thus saving development
time. A BLA is the biologic products' equivalent to a New Drug
Application and is the final stage before a drug is approved for
the market by the FDA. Fast track status also opens the possibility
for receiving a priority review of the BLA where the review time
would be halved to just 6 months. "Fast Track status confirms there
is a major unmet medical need for treatment of CTCL patients," said
Lisa N. Drakeman, Ph.D., Chief Executive Officer of Genmab. "We are
encouraged by the results of the clinical trials to date and are
looking forward to continued development." About HuMax-CD4
HuMax-CD4 is a high affinity human antibody that targets the CD4
receptor on T-lymphocytes. Genmab is running two Phase II studies
concurrently using HuMax-CD4 to treat cutaneous T-cell lymphoma
(CTCL), one in early stage patients and the other for patients with
advanced disease. In February, the company announced that results
will be presented at the 65TH Annual Meeting of the Society for
Investigative Dermatology (SID) in April. At the time the
conference abstract was prepared, data was available from 36
patients enrolled in the two ongoing HuMax-CD4 clinical trials
using the Composite Assessment of Index Lesion Disease Activity
(CA) score. These patients were treated at one of three dose levels
as follows: 280 mg (11 early stage and 10 advanced stage), 560 mg
(9 early stage) or 980 mg (6 advanced stage). Efficacy Following
280 mg, 33% of 21 patients obtained a 50% or better CA score
reduction. Following 560 mg, 67% (six of nine early stage patients)
obtained a CA score reductionof 50% or better, including two who
obtained a 100% reduction. Three other early stage patients had
stable disease. Following 980 mg, 50% (three of six) advanced stage
patients obtained a CA score reduction of more than 50% and three
patients had stable disease. Safety Following 280 mg dosing, 6
grade 3 adverse events were reported by 4 patients. 5 were
unrelated to HuMax-CD4. Following 560 and 980 mg, 1 unrelated grade
3 adverse event was reported. No grade 4 events were reported.
HuMax-CD4 has been found to be safe and well tolerated by patients
with CTCL in clinical studies to date. Society for Investigative
Dermatology Presentation At the time of the SID abstract, 15 early
stage patients were enrolled in the 560 mg treatment group and 10
late stage patients were enrolled in the 980 mg treatment group. At
the time of the presentation on April 30, 2004, more complete data
covering more of these patients for a longer period of time is
expected to beavailable. Disease prevalence T-cell lymphomas
positive for the CD4 receptor constitute around 5% of Non Hodgkin's
Lymphomas. There are about 1,000 new cases of CTCL per year in the
US and the prevalence of the disease is estimated at16,000 to 20,
000. CTCL patients tend to have a lifespan of 10 to 30 years and
therefore could be treated several times during the disease
progression. In addition to CTCL, approximately half of the
non-cutaneous T-cell lymphomas express the CD4 receptor on their
cell surface and Genmab has also treated a non-cutaneous T-cell
lymphoma patient on a compassionate use basis with a good clinical
effect. Considering this and the encouraging data from the CTCL
study, Genmab is now making plansto initiate a study in non-
cutaneous T-cell lymphoma patients in the second half of 2004,
especially since these patients also have a dramatic need for new
and less toxic therapies. Non-cutaneous T-cell lymphomas that are
positive for the CD4 receptor are predominantly of the nodal
subtype. This includes peripheral and angioimmunoblastic T-cell
lymphomas of which 75% are CD4 positive and anaplastic large cell
lymphomas of which 20% are. The combined incidence of these
lymphomas is approximately 2,770 in the US and Canada and 3,280 in
industrialised Europe. Their prevalence in Europe is approximately
10,000 and in US and Canada it ranges from 8,000 to 10,000. The
Composite Assessment (CA) The recognised compositeassessment of
index lesion disease activity (CA) is the primary endpoint for
assessing clinical efficacy in the treatment of CTCL in the two
ongoing clinical trials. When calculating the CA score, a maximum
of five index lesions are assessed with regards to the following
components; erythema, scaling, plaque elevation, hypo- or
hyperpigmentation, and area. For the first four components values
between 0 and 8 can be ascribed, whereas for the area of the index
lesion values between 0 and 18 can be ascribed. The CA score is the
sum of the assessments of erythema, scaling, plaque elevation,
hypo- or hyperpigmentation, and area at a specific visit.
Conference Call Genmab's Management will hold a conference call to
discuss the news today, Tuesday, March 23, at 3:00 pm CET 2:00 pm
GMT 9:00 am US Eastern Time The dial in numbers are as follows:
+1-800-915-4836 (in the US) and ask for the Genmab conference call
+973-317-5319 (outside the US) and ask for the Genmab conference
call The conference call will be held in English. About Genmab A/S
Genmab A/S is a biotechnology company that creates and develops
human antibodies for the treatment of life-threatening and
debilitating diseases. Genmab has numerous products in development
to treat cancer, infectious disease, rheumatoid arthritis and other
inflammatory conditions, and intends to continue assembling a broad
portfolio of new therapeutic products. At present, Genmab has
multiple partnerships to gain access to disease targets and develop
novel human antibodies including agreements with Roche and Amgen. A
broad alliance provides Genmab with access to Medarex, Inc.'s array
of proprietary technologies, including the UltiMAb(tm) platform for
the rapid creation and development of human antibodies to virtually
any disease target. Genmab is headquartered in Copenhagen, Denmark
and has operations in Utrecht, The Netherlands and Princeton, New
Jersey in the US. For more information about Genmab, visit
www.genmab.com. Except for the historical information presented
herein, matters discussed in this press release are forward-looking
statements that are subject to certain risks and uncertainties that
couldcause actual results to differ materially from any future
results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such
statements, e.g. unforeseen exchange rate and interest rate
fluctuations, delayed or unsuccessful development projects.
Statements that are not historical facts, including statements
preceded by, followed by, or that include the words "believes";
"anticipates"; " plans"; "expects"; "estimates"; or similar
statements are forward-looking statements. Genmab is not under an
obligation to up-date statements regarding the future following the
publication of this release; nor to confirm such statements in
relation to actual results, unless this is required by law. Web
site: http://www.genmab.com DATASOURCE: Genmab A/S CONTACT: Sisse
P. Hansen, Investor & Public Relations of Genmab A/S,
+45-33-44-77-76, mobile: +45-25-27-47-27, sha@genmab.com FCMN
Contact: sha@genmab.com
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