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FDA Approves Imbruvica (ibrutinib) for the First-Line Treatment of Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia

NORTH CHICAGO, Ill., March 4, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- AbbVie (NYSE: ABBV), a global biopharmaceutical company, today announced the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved Imbruvica (ibrutinib) as a first-line treatment for patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL).1 The approval is based on data from the randomized, multi-center, open-label Phase 3 RESONATE™-2 (PCYC-1115) trial, which evaluated the use of Imbruvica versus chlorambucil in 269 treatment-naïve patients with CLL or small lymphocytic lymphoma (SLL) aged 65 years or older. The RESONATE-2 data were previously presented at the American Society of Hematology (ASH) Annual Meeting in December 2015 and also simultaneously published in The New England Journal of Medicine. Imbruvica is jointly developed and commercialized by Pharmacyclics LLC, an AbbVie company and Janssen Biotech, Inc.

"This approval represents a significant leap forward for patients diagnosed with CLL who may want to consider an alternative first-line treatment to traditional chemotherapy," said Michael Severino, M.D., executive vice president, research and development and chief scientific officer, AbbVie. "AbbVie is committed to making significant improvements in the lives of patients with hematologic malignancies and will continue to explore ways to improve treatment options for patients."

The prevalence of CLL is approximately 115,000 patients in the U.S.2 with approximately 15,000 newly diagnosed patients every year.3 CLL is a disease of elderly patients, with an average diagnosis age of 71.3

The National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN) recently published an update to its clinical practice guidelines for non-Hodgkin's lymphomas, granting Imbruvica a category 1 recommendation for certain CLL patients, the highest recommendation assigned by the organization. Specifically, NCCN recommends Imbruvica as a first-line treatment option for frail CLL patients with significant comorbidities, as well as for CLL patients with or without del 17p or the genetic mutation TP53 who are 70 years or older, or younger patients with significant comorbidities. The NCCN guidelines inform prescribing and reimbursement practices in many institutions in the U.S. and internationally.

"The progression-free survival data seen in these previously untreated CLL patients are strong and encouraging," said Dr. Jan Burger, M.D., Ph.D., Associate Professor, Department of Leukemia, Division of Cancer Medicine, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX and the RESONATE-2 lead study investigator.* "This is especially important for first-line CLL patients, when considering the safety profile. This treatment represents another option for these patients."

Imbruvica is now approved to treat CLL patients regardless of their treatment history (treatment-naïve and previously-treated patients). In addition, Imbruvica is approved to treat high-risk CLL patients with del 17p,1 a genetic aberration that occurs when part of chromosome 17, the location of the tumor suppressor gene p53, has been lost or deleted.4

Imbruvica significantly prolonged progression-free survival (PFS; primary endpoint) as determined by an Independent Review Committee (IRC), reducing the risk of progression or death by 84% versus chlorambucil (hazard ratio [HR], 0.161 [95% confidence interval: 0.091, 0.283]; median PFS: not reached for Imbruvica vs. 18.9 months [95% confidence interval: 14.1, 22.0] for chlorambucil).1 Imbruvica was also associated with a significantly higher IRC-assessed overall response rate (ORR: a composite of complete and partial responses; 82.4% vs. 35.3%; P<0.0001) versus chlorambucil.1 Five patients (3.7 percent) in the Imbruvica arm achieved a complete response, compared to two patients (1.5 percent) in the chlorambucil arm.1

The safety of Imbruvica in this patient population was consistent with previously reported studies. The adverse reactions (AR) reported in the U.S. Prescribing Information reflect exposure to Imbruvica with a median duration of 17.4 months versus a median exposure to chlorambucil of 7.1 months: nearly 2.5 times longer exposure for Imbruvica. Warnings and Precautions include hemorrhage, infections, cytopenias, atrial fibrillation, hypertension, second primary malignancies, embryo-fetal toxicity and tumor lysis syndrome. The most commonly occurring adverse reactions of all Grades in CLL patients treated with Imbruvica in the RESONATE-2 trial (>20%) were diarrhea, musculoskeletal pain, cough and rash.

About the RESONATE-2 Study

RESONATE-2 is a Pharmacyclics-sponsored study which enrolled 269 treatment-naïve patients with CLL or SLL aged 65 years or older in the U.S., EU and other regions. Patients were randomized to receive either Imbruvica 420 mg orally, once daily until progression or unacceptable toxicity, or chlorambucil on days 1 and 15 of each 28-day cycle for up to 12 cycles. The starting dose for chlorambucil in Cycle 1 was 0.5 mg/kg and was increased based on tolerability in Cycle 2 by increments of 0.1 mg/kg to a maximum of 0.8 mg/kg. The primary endpoint of the study was PFS as assessed by an IRC according to the International Workshop on Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia (iWCLL) 2008 criteria, with modification for treatment-related lymphocytosis. Key secondary endpoints included ORR (based on the same iWCLL criteria), overall survival (OS) and safety.

Patient Access to Imbruvica

AbbVie and Janssen strive to make access to Imbruvica easy by helping patients understand their insurance benefits for Imbruvica. The YOU&i™ Support Program is a personalized program that includes information on access and affordability, nurse call support and resources for patients being treated with Imbruvica. This includes the YOU&i™ Instant Savings program, which provides co-pay support to eligible commercially insured Imbruvica patients. Patients can access the program by contacting 1-877-877-3536, option 1 or by visiting http://www.IMBRUVICA.com.

The YOU&i™ Instant Savings program is not available for patients enrolled in Medicare or Medicaid. For a list of patient support organizations that may be able to provide financial support please visit: http://www.cancer.net/navigating-cancer-care/financial-considerations/financial-resources.

About Imbruvica

Imbruvica is a first-in-class, oral, once-daily therapy that inhibits a protein called Bruton's tyrosine kinase (BTK).1 BTK is a key signaling molecule in the B-cell receptor signaling complex that plays an important role in the survival and spread of malignant B cells.1,5 Imbruvica blocks signals that tell malignant B cells to multiply and spread uncontrollably.1

Imbruvica is approved to treat patients with CLL, patients with mantle cell lymphoma (MCL) who have received at least one prior therapy and patients with Waldenström's macroglobulinemia. Accelerated approval was granted for the MCL indication based on overall response rate. Continued approval for this indication may be contingent upon verification of clinical benefit in confirmatory trials.1

Imbruvica was one of the first medicines to receive U.S. FDA approval via the new Breakthrough Therapy Designation pathway.

Imbruvica is being studied alone and in combination with other treatments in several blood and solid tumor cancers. More than 6,000 patients have been treated with Imbruvica in clinical trials. Currently, 14 Phase 3 trials have been initiated with Imbruvica and more than 90 trials are registered on www.clinicaltrials.gov.

About AbbVie

AbbVie is a global, research-based biopharmaceutical company formed in 2013 following separation from Abbott Laboratories. The company's mission is to use its expertise, dedicated people and unique approach to innovation to develop and market advanced therapies that address some of the world's most complex and serious diseases. Together with its wholly-owned subsidiary, Pharmacyclics, AbbVie employs more than 28,000 people worldwide and markets medicines in more than 170 countries. For further information on the company and its people, portfolio and commitments, please visit www.abbvie.com. Follow @abbvie on Twitter or view careers on our Facebook or LinkedIn page.

Forward-Looking Statements

Some statements in this news release may be forward-looking statements for purposes of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. The words "believe," "expect," "anticipate," "project" and similar expressions, among others, generally identify forward-looking statements. AbbVie cautions that these forward-looking statements are subject to risks and uncertainties that may cause actual results to differ materially from those indicated in the forward-looking statements. Such risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, the likelihood that the transaction is consummated, the expected benefits of the transaction, challenges to intellectual property, competition from other products, difficulties inherent in the research and development process, adverse litigation or government action, and changes to laws and regulations applicable to our industry. Additional information about the economic, competitive, governmental, technological and other factors that may affect AbbVie's operations is set forth in Item 1A, "Risk Factors," in AbbVie's 2014 Annual Report on Form 10-K, which has been filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. AbbVie undertakes no obligation to release publicly any revisions to forward-looking statements as a result of subsequent events or developments, except as required by law.

*Disclaimer: Dr. Jan Burger served as the primary investigator of this Pharmacyclics-sponsored clinical study. He has served as an unpaid advisor to both Pharmacyclics and Janssen in developing the compound ibrutinib. Dr. Burger does not have a financial interest in either company.

Imbruvica is a registered trademark of Pharmacyclics LLC

  1. IMBRUVICA US Prescribing Information, March 2016.
  2. IMS Database [Data on File]
  3. American Cancer Society. What are the key statistics for chronic lymphocytic leukemia? Available from: http://www.cancer.org/cancer/leukemia-chroniclymphocyticcll/detailedguide/leukemia-chronic-lymphocytic-key-statistics. Accessed March 2016.
  4. American Cancer Society. Leukemia – Chronic Lymphocytic. Available from: http://www.cancer.org/acs/groups/cid/documents/webcontent/003111-pdf.pdf. Accessed March 2016.
  5. Genetics Home Reference. Isolated growth hormone deficiency. Available from: http://ghr.nlm.nih.gov/condition/isolated-growth-hormone-deficiency. Accessed March 2016.

SOURCE AbbVie Inc.

Posted: March 2016

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