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FDA Approves New Indication for Promacta (eltrombopag) for Severe Aplastic Anemia

London, UK -- 26 August 2014 -- GlaxoSmithKline plc (LSE/NYSE: GSK) announced today that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved a supplemental New Drug Application (sNDA) for the once-daily use of Promacta (eltrombopag) in patients with severe aplastic anemia (SAA) who have had an insufficient response to immunosuppressive therapy (IST).1

SAA is a blood disorder where the bone marrow fails to make enough red blood cells, white blood cells, and platelets.2 Eltrombopag, an oral thrombopoietin (TPO) receptor agonist, works by helping to induce proliferation and differentiation of bone marrow stem cells to increase production of blood cells.1

“FDA approval of Promacta addresses a significant treatment need for this very rare but serious blood disorder in those who have failed current treatment options,” said Dr. Paolo Paoletti, President of Oncology, GSK. “Through collaboration with the National Institutes of Health, whose studies demonstrate the potential for Promacta to achieve a haematologic response in at least one lineage – red blood cells, platelets, or white blood cells – patients now have a treatment option where one didn’t previously exist.”

Promacta gained Breakthrough Therapy designation status from the FDA in January 2014 and Priority Review in April 2014. Today’s approval by the FDA is based on results from an investigator-sponsored Phase II study (09-H-0154) conducted by the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute (NHLBI) at the National Institutes of Health (NIH). The study demonstrated a haematologic response in SAA patients treated with eltrombopag who had an insufficient response to IST:1

The most common adverse reactions (≥20%) in the single-arm, open-label trial, in 43 patients with SAA who received Promacta were: nausea (33%), fatigue (28%), cough (23%), diarrhoea (21%), and headache (21%). In this trial, patients had bone marrow aspirates evaluated for cytogenetic abnormalities. Eight patients had a new cytogenetic abnormality reported, including five patients who had complex changes in chromosome 7. If new cytogenetic abnormalities are observed, discontinuation of Promacta should be considered.1

About the NIH Study1

In the single-arm, single-centre, open-label Phase II 09-H-0154 study, eltrombopag was evaluated in 43 patients with SAA who have had an insufficient response to at least one prior IST and who had a platelet count ≤30 x 109/L. At baseline, the median platelet count was 20 x 109/L, hemoglobin was 8.4 g/dL, absolute neutrophil count (ANC) was 0.58 x 109/L, and absolute reticulocyte count was 24.3 x 109/L.

The treated population had a median age of 45 years (range 17 to 77 years) and 56 per cent were male. The majority of patients (84%) received at least two prior immunosuppressive therapies.

Eltrombopag was administered at an initial dose of 50 mg once daily for two weeks and increased over two-week periods up to a maximum dose of 150 mg once daily. The primary endpoint was haematologic response which was initially assessed after 12 weeks of treatment with eltrombopag. Treatment was discontinued after 16 weeks if no haematologic response was observed. Additional efficacy assessments included median duration of response in months.

About Severe Aplastic Anemia (SAA)

SAA is a very rare but serious blood disorder where the bone marrow fails to make enough red blood cells, white blood cells, and platelets.2 The exact cause of the disease is still unknown, but most cases of SAA are believed to be triggered by an autoimmune reaction where the body attacks blood-forming stem cells located in the bone marrow.3 As a result, patients with SAA are at risk for life-threatening infections or bleeding.2In the U.S., approximately 300 to 600 new cases of SAA are identified each year.2

Treatment of SAA is focused on increasing a patient’s blood cell count; definitive care includes immunosuppressive therapy (IST) or hematopoietic stem cell transplantation.3,4 Supportive treatments – including blood transfusions, platelet transfusions that typically occur once a week, iron chelation therapy, and treatment of infections – help in the short term to relieve specific symptoms.5

Of patients treated with IST, one-quarter to one-third will not respond and 30-40 per cent of responders will relapse, causing symptoms to return.4 Approximately 40 per cent of SAA patients who don’t respond to initial IST die from infection or bleeding within five years of their diagnosis.6

Currently, no established standard of care exists for SAA patients who have had an insufficient response to IST or are ineligible for hematopoietic stem cell transplantation.7

About Eltrombopag1

Eltrombopag is marketed under the brand name Promacta® in the U.S. and Revolade™ in most ex-U.S. countries.

In addition to the approval of Promacta for SAA in the U.S., eltrombopag is indicated for the treatment of thrombocytopenia in patients with:

About GSK Patient Assistance Programmes

GSK has a number of patient assistance programmes for eligible patients in the U.S. who need help affording their medicines and vaccines. Patients who qualify for the programmes may benefit from GSK’s Commitment to Access programme for oncology and specialty medicines which offers services and programmes including co-pay assistance in addition to traditional patient assistance support. For more information, patients in the U.S. can call 1-8ONCOLOGY1 (1-866-265-6491).

GSK – one of the world’s leading research-based pharmaceutical and healthcare companies – is committed to improving the quality of human life by enabling people to do more, feel better and live longer. For further information please visit www.gsk.com.

Cautionary statement regarding forward-looking statements

GSK cautions investors that any forward-looking statements or projections made by GSK, including those made in this announcement, are subject to risks and uncertainties that may cause actual results to differ materially from those projected. Such factors include, but are not limited to, those described under Item 3.D 'Risk factors' in the company's Annual Report on Form 20-F for 2013.

  1. GSK. Promacta Prescribing Information. 2014.
  2. American Cancer Society. “Aplastic Anemia.” Accessed on 7 July 2014. Available at: http://www.cancer.org/acs/groups/cid/documents/webcontent/002279-pdf.pdf. Published 23 April 2013.
  3. Aplastic Anemia & MDS International Foundation. “Aplastic Anemia: Causes.” Accessed on 7 July 2014. Available at: http://www.aamds.org/about/aplastic-anemia/causes. Accessed 23 June 2014.
  4. Townsley DM, Desmond R, Dunbar CE, et al. “Pathophysiology and management of thrombocytopenia in bone marrow failure: possible clinical applications of TPO receptor agonists in aplastic anemia and myelodysplastic syndromes.” Int J Hematology. 2013; 98(1):48-55.
  5. Townsley DM, Desmond R, Dunbar CE, et al. “Pathophysiology and management of thrombocytopenia in bone marrow failure: possible clinical applications of TPO receptor agonists in aplastic anemia and myelodysplastic syndromes.” Int J Hematol. 2013; 98(1):48-55.
  6. Valdez JM, et al. “Decreased Infection-Related Mortality and Improved Survival in Severe Aplastic Anemia in the Past Two Decades.” Clinical Infectious Diseases. 2011; 52(6):726–735.
  7. Scheinberg P, Young NS. “How I treat acquired aplastic anemia.” Blood. 2011.

Source: GSK

Posted: August 2014

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