Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, Inc. issued the following announcement on June 28.
Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ: REGN) and Sanofi announced that the European Medicines Agency's Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use (CHMP) has adopted a positive opinion for Dupixent® (dupilumab), recommending to extend its approval in the European Union (EU) to include adolescents 12 to 17 years of age with moderate-to-severe atopic dermatitis who are candidates for systemic therapy.
If approved, Dupixent would be the first biologic medicine approved in the EU to treat these patients. The positive CHMP opinion is based on clinical data from the LIBERTY AD program, including a pivotal Phase 3 trial and an open-label extension trial evaluating the efficacy and safety of Dupixent in adolescents with uncontrolled moderate-to-severe atopic dermatitis. A final decision on the Dupixent application by the European Commission (EC) is expected in the coming months.
Dupixent is a fully-human monoclonal antibody that inhibits the signaling of interleukin-4 (IL-4) and interleukin-13 (IL-13), two proteins that play a central role in type 2 inflammation. Data from Dupixent clinical trials have shown that inhibiting IL-4 and IL-13 helps address the type 2 inflammation that plays a major role in atopic dermatitis, asthma and chronic rhinosinusitis with nasal polyposis (CRSwNP).
Atopic dermatitis, the most common form of eczema, is a chronic inflammatory disease. In its moderate-to-severe form it is characterized by rashes that can potentially cover much of the body, and can include intense, persistent itching, skin lesions and skin dryness, cracking, redness, crusting and oozing. Itch is one of the most burdensome symptoms for patients and can be debilitating. Despite standard-of-care therapy, there continues to be an unmet need for many adolescents with moderate-to-severe atopic dermatitis who often have uncontrolled, persistent symptoms.
About Dupixent
Dupixent is currently approved in the EU for use in adults with moderate-to-severe atopic dermatitis who are candidates for systemic therapy. It is also approved in the EU for adults and adolescents 12 years and older as an add-on maintenance treatment for severe asthma with type 2 inflammation characterized by raised blood eosinophils and/or raised fractional exhaled nitric oxide (FeNO), who are inadequately controlled with high dose inhaled corticosteroid (ICS) plus another medicinal product for maintenance treatment.
Outside of the EU, Dupixent is approved for use in specific patients with moderate-to-severe atopic dermatitis and certain patients with asthma in a number of other countries around the world, including the U.S. and Japan. Dupixent is also approved in the U.S. for use with other medicines to treat CRSwNP in adults whose disease is not controlled, and is currently under regulatory review for patients with CRSwNP in the EU.
Dupilumab Development Program
In addition to the currently approved indications, Regeneron and Sanofi are also studying dupilumab in a broad range of clinical development programs for diseases driven by allergic and other type 2 inflammation, including pediatric asthma and atopic dermatitis (6 to 11 years of age, Phase 3), pediatric atopic dermatitis (6 months to 5 years of age, Phase 2/3), eosinophilic esophagitis (Phase 3), chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (Phase 3) and food and environmental allergies (Phase 2). Dupilumab is also being studied in combination with REGN3500 (SAR440340), which targets IL-33. These potential uses are investigational and the safety and efficacy have not been evaluated by any regulatory authority. Dupilumab and REGN3500 were invented using Regeneron's proprietary VelocImmune®technology that yields optimized fully human antibodies, and are being jointly developed by Regeneron and Sanofi under a global collaboration agreement.
U.S. INDICATIONS
DUPIXENT is a prescription medicine used:
- to treat people 12 years of age and older with moderate-to-severe atopic dermatitis (eczema) that is not well controlled with prescription therapies used on the skin (topical), or who cannot use topical therapies. DUPIXENT can be used with or without topical corticosteroids. It is not known if DUPIXENT is safe and effective in children with atopic dermatitis under 12 years of age.
- with other asthma medicines for the maintenance treatment of moderate-to-severe asthma in people aged 12 years and older whose asthma is not controlled with their current asthma medicines. DUPIXENT helps prevent severe asthma attacks (exacerbations) and can improve your breathing. DUPIXENT may also help reduce the amount of oral corticosteroids you need while preventing severe asthma attacks and improving your breathing. DUPIXENT is not used to treat sudden breathing problems. It is not known if DUPIXENT is safe and effective in children with asthma under 12 years of age.
- with other medicines to treat chronic rhinosinusitis with nasal polyposis in adults whose disease is not controlled. It is not known if DUPIXENT is safe and effective in children with chronic rhinosinusitis with nasal polyposis under 18 years of age.
IMPORTANT SAFETY INFORMATION FOR U.S. PATIENTS
Do not use if you are allergic to dupilumab or to any of the ingredients in DUPIXENT®.
Before using DUPIXENT, tell your healthcare provider about all your medical conditions, including if you:
- have eye problems
- have a parasitic (helminth) infection
- are taking oral, topical, or inhaled corticosteroid medicines. Do not stop taking your corticosteroid medicines unless instructed by your healthcare provider. This may cause other symptoms that were controlled by the corticosteroid medicine to come back.
- are scheduled to receive any vaccinations. You should not receive a "live vaccine" if you are treated with DUPIXENT.
- are pregnant or plan to become pregnant. It is not known whether DUPIXENT will harm your unborn baby.
- are breastfeeding or plan to breastfeed. It is not known whether DUPIXENT passes into your breast milk.
Tell your healthcare provider about all the medicines you take, including prescription and over-the-counter medicines, vitamins and herbal supplements. If you are taking asthma medicines, do not change or stop your asthma medicine without talking to your healthcare provider.
DUPIXENT can cause serious side effects, including:
- Allergic reactions (hypersensitivity), including a severe reaction known as anaphylaxis. Stop using DUPIXENT and tell your healthcare provider or get emergency help right away if you get any of the following symptoms: breathing problems, fever, general ill feeling, swollen lymph nodes, swelling of the face, mouth and tongue, hives, itching, fainting, dizziness, feeling lightheaded (low blood pressure), joint pain, or skin rash.
- Eye problems. Tell your healthcare provider if you have any new or worsening eye problems, including eye pain or changes in vision.
- Inflammation of your blood vessels. Rarely, this can happen in people with asthma who receive DUPIXENT. This may happen in people who also take a steroid medicine by mouth that is being stopped or the dose is being lowered. It is not known whether this is caused by DUPIXENT. Tell your healthcare provider right away if you have: rash, shortness of breath, persistent fever, chest pain, or a feeling of pins and needles or numbness of your arms or legs.
The most common side effects include:
- Atopic dermatitis: injection site reactions, eye and eyelid inflammation, including redness, swelling, and itching, and cold sores in your mouth or on your lips.
- Asthma: injection site reactions, pain in the throat (oropharyngeal pain), and high count of a certain white blood cell (eosinophilia).
- Chronic rhinosinusitis with nasal polyposis: injection site reactions, eye and eyelid inflammation, including redness, swelling, and itching, high count of a certain white blood cell (eosinophilia), trouble sleeping (insomnia), toothache, gastritis, and joint pain (arthralgia).
Tell your healthcare provider if you have any side effect that bothers you or that does not go away. These are not all the possible side effects of DUPIXENT. Call your doctor for medical advice about side effects. You are encouraged to report negative side effects of prescription drugs to the FDA. Visit www.fda.gov/medwatch, or call 1-800-FDA-1088.
Use DUPIXENT exactly as prescribed. DUPIXENT is an injection given under the skin (subcutaneous injection). If your healthcare provider decides that you or a caregiver can give DUPIXENT injections, you or your caregiver should receive training on the right way to prepare and inject DUPIXENT. Do not try to inject DUPIXENT until you have been shown the right way by your healthcare provider. In children 12 years of age and older, it is recommended that DUPIXENT be administered by or under supervision of an adult.
Please see full Prescribing Information including Patient Information.
About Regeneron
Regeneron (NASDAQ: REGN) is a leading biotechnology company that invents life-transforming medicines for people with serious diseases. Founded and led for 30 years by physician-scientists, our unique ability to repeatedly and consistently translate science into medicine has led to seven FDA-approved treatments and numerous product candidates in development, all of which were homegrown in our laboratories. Our medicines and pipeline are designed to help patients with eye disease, allergic and inflammatory diseases, cancer, cardiovascular and metabolic diseases, neuromuscular diseases, infectious diseases and rare diseases.
Regeneron is accelerating and improving the traditional drug development process through our proprietary VelociSuite® technologies, such as VelocImmune® which produces optimized fully-human antibodies, and ambitious research initiatives such as the Regeneron Genetics Center, which is conducting one of the largest genetics sequencing efforts in the world.
About Sanofi
Sanofi is dedicated to supporting people through their health challenges. We are a global biopharmaceutical company focused on human health. We prevent illness with vaccines, provide innovative treatments to fight pain and ease suffering. We stand by the few who suffer from rare diseases and the millions with long-term chronic conditions.
With more than 100,000 people in 100 countries, Sanofi is transforming scientific innovation into healthcare solutions around the globe.
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