FDA Accepts Dupixent® (dupilumab) for Priority Review in Patients Aged 12 Years and Older with Eosinophilic Esophagitis
Regeneron Pharmaceuticals announces that the FDA has accepted for Priority Review its sBLA for Dupixent (dupilumab) to treat eosinophilic esophagitis (EoE) in patients aged 12 and older. If approved, Dupixent will be the first FDA-approved treatment for EoE in the U.S. Currently, there are around 160,000 patients in the U.S. with EoE, with about 48,000 not responding to existing therapies. The FDA's decision is expected by August 3, 2022. The sBLA is backed by Phase 3 trial data showing Dupixent's efficacy in easing EoE symptoms.
- FDA accepted sBLA for Dupixent to treat eosinophilic esophagitis, which may lead to first FDA-approved treatment for this condition.
- Dupixent showed significant efficacy in reducing eosinophil counts and improving swallowing ability in Phase 3 trials.
- Dupixent's safety and efficacy for eosinophilic esophagitis are still under evaluation by regulatory authorities.
If approved, Dupixent would be the first medicine available in the U.S. indicated to treat eosinophilic esophagitis
There are approximately 160,000 patients in the U.S. living with eosinophilic esophagitis who are currently treated, of whom approximately 48,000 have failed multiple treatments
TARRYTOWN, N.Y. and PARIS, April 4, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ: REGN) and Sanofi today announced the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has accepted for Priority Review the supplemental Biologics License Application (sBLA) for Dupixent® (dupilumab) 300 mg weekly to treat adult and pediatric patients aged 12 years and older with eosinophilic esophagitis (EoE), a chronic and progressive type 2 inflammatory disease that damages the esophagus and impairs the ability to swallow. The target action date for the FDA decision on this investigational use is August 3, 2022.
The sBLA is supported by data from two Phase 3 trials evaluating the efficacy and safety of Dupixent 300 mg weekly in patients aged 12 years and older with EoE (Part A and Part B), and data from an active long-term extension trial. Dupixent 300 mg weekly significantly improved the signs and symptoms of EoE at 24 weeks compared to placebo, including the ability to swallow and reduction in eosinophil count in the esophagus. The safety results of these trials were generally consistent with the known safety profile of Dupixent in its approved indications. The most common adverse event observed with Dupixent, in Part A and Part B, was injection site reactions.
In September 2020, the U.S. FDA granted Breakthrough Therapy designation to Dupixent for the treatment of patients aged 12 years and older with EoE. Dupixent was also granted Orphan Drug designation for the potential treatment of EoE in 2017. Priority review is granted to therapies that have the potential to provide significant improvements in the treatment, diagnosis or prevention of serious conditions. Regulatory filings around the world are also planned in 2022. The potential use of Dupixent in EoE is currently under clinical development, and the safety and efficacy have not been fully evaluated by any regulatory authority.
About Eosinophilic Esophagitis (EoE)
EoE is a chronic, progressive type 2 inflammatory disease that damages the esophagus and prevents it from working properly. For people with EoE, swallowing the smallest amount of food can be a painful and worrisome choking experience. Those with EoE live with anxiety and frustration from having a constantly evolving list of foods to avoid. This disease can also cause narrowing of the esophagus and dilation (physical expansion) of the esophagus may be needed, which is often painful. In severe cases, a feeding tube is the only option to ensure proper caloric intake and adequate nutrition. People with EoE may have poor quality of life and are more likely to experience depression than people without EoE. There are approximately 160,000 patients in the U.S. living with EoE who are currently treated, of whom approximately 48,000 have failed multiple treatments.
About Dupixent
Dupixent, which was invented using Regeneron's proprietary VelocImmune® technology, 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. By demonstrating significant clinical benefit together with a decrease in type 2 inflammation following IL-4 and IL-13 blockade with Dupixent, the Dupixent Phase 3 clinical program has established that IL-4 and IL-13 are key drivers of the type 2 inflammation that plays a major role in multiple related and often co-morbid diseases for which Dupixent is approved including atopic dermatitis, asthma and chronic rhinosinusitis with nasal polyposis (CRSwNP), as well as investigational diseases such as EoE and prurigo nodularis, which have been studied in Phase 3 trials.
In the U.S., Dupixent is approved in patients aged 6 years and older with uncontrolled moderate-to-severe atopic dermatitis; as an add-on maintenance treatment of patients aged 6 years and older with moderate-to-severe asthma characterized by an eosinophilic phenotype or with oral corticosteroid-dependent asthma; and for use with other medicines for the maintenance treatment of chronic rhinosinusitis with nasal polyposis (CRSwNP) in adults whose disease is not controlled.
Dupixent is also approved in Europe, Japan and other countries around the world for use in specific patients with moderate-to-severe atopic dermatitis and certain patients with asthma or CRSwNP in different age populations. Dupixent is approved in one or more of these indications in more than 60 countries around the world, and more than 400,000 patients have been treated globally.
About Regeneron's VelocImmune Technology
Regeneron's VelocImmune technology utilizes a proprietary genetically engineered mouse platform endowed with a genetically humanized immune system to produce optimized fully human antibodies. When Regeneron's President and Chief Scientific Officer George D. Yancopoulos was a graduate student with his mentor Frederick W. Alt in 1985, they were the first to envision making such a genetically humanized mouse, and Regeneron has spent decades inventing and developing VelocImmune and related VelociSuite® technologies. Dr. Yancopoulos and his team have used VelocImmune technology to create approximately a quarter of all original, FDA-approved or authorized fully human monoclonal antibodies currently available. This includes Dupixent, REGEN-COV® (casirivimab and imdevimab), Libtayo® (cemiplimab-rwlc), Praluent® (alirocumab), Kevzara® (sarilumab), Evkeeza® (evinacumab-dgnb) and Inmazeb™ (atoltivimab, maftivimab, and odesivimab-ebgn).
Dupilumab Development Program
Dupilumab is being jointly developed by Regeneron and Sanofi 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, Regeneron and Sanofi are studying dupilumab in a broad range of diseases driven by type 2 inflammation or other allergic processes, including eosinophilic esophagitis (Phase 3), pediatric atopic dermatitis (6 months to 5 years of age, Phase 3), chronic rhinosinusitis without nasal polyposis (Phase 3), chronic obstructive pulmonary disease with evidence of type 2 inflammation (Phase 3), prurigo nodularis (Phase 3), chronic spontaneous urticaria (Phase 3), bullous pemphigoid (Phase 3), chronic inducible urticaria-cold (Phase 3), allergic fungal rhinosinusitis (Phase 3), allergic bronchopulmonary aspergillosis (Phase 3) and peanut allergy (Phase 2). 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.
U.S. Indications
DUPIXENT is a prescription medicine used:
- to treat adults and children 6 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 6 years of age.
- with other asthma medicines for the maintenance treatment of moderate-to-severe eosinophilic or oral steroid dependent asthma in adults and children 6 years of age 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 6 years of age.
- with other medicines for the maintenance treatment of chronic rhinosinusitis with nasal polyposis (CRSwNP) 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 scheduled to receive any vaccinations. You should not receive a "live vaccine" right before and during treatment with DUPIXENT.
- are pregnant or plan to become pregnant. It is not known whether DUPIXENT will harm your unborn baby.
- A pregnancy registry for women who take DUPIXENT during pregnancy collects information about the health of you and your baby. To enroll or get more information call 1-877-311-8972 or go to https://mothertobaby.org/ongoing-study/dupixent/
- 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.
Especially tell your healthcare provider if you are taking oral, topical, or inhaled corticosteroid medicines; have asthma and use an asthma medicine; or have atopic dermatitis or CRSwNP, and also have asthma. Do not change or stop your corticosteroid medicine or other asthma medicine without talking to your healthcare provider. This may cause other symptoms that were controlled by the corticosteroid medicine or other asthma medicine to come back.
DUPIXENT can cause serious side effects, including:
- Allergic reactions. DUPIXENT can cause allergic reactions that can sometimes be severe. Stop using DUPIXENT and tell your healthcare provider or get emergency help right away if you get any of the following signs or symptoms: breathing problems or wheezing, swelling of the face, lips, mouth, tongue or throat, fainting, dizziness, feeling lightheaded, fast pulse, fever, hives, joint pain, general ill feeling, itching, skin rash, swollen lymph nodes, nausea or vomiting, or cramps in your stomach-area.
- Eye problems. Tell your healthcare provider if you have any new or worsening eye problems, including eye pain or changes in vision, such as blurred vision. Your healthcare provider may send you to an ophthalmologist for an exam if needed.
- 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, chest pain, worsening shortness of breath, a feeling of pins and needles or numbness of your arms or legs, or persistent fever.
- Joint aches and pain. Some people who use DUPIXENT have had trouble walking or moving due to their joint symptoms, and in some cases needed to be hospitalized. Tell your healthcare provider about any new or worsening joint symptoms. Your healthcare provider may stop DUPIXENT if you develop joint symptoms.
The most common side effects include:
- Atopic dermatitis: injection site reactions, eye and eyelid inflammation, including redness, swelling, and itching, sometimes with blurred vision, and cold sores in your mouth or on your lips.
- Asthma: injection site reactions, pain in the throat (oropharyngeal pain), high count of a certain white blood cell (eosinophilia), and parasitic (helminth) infections.
- Chronic rhinosinusitis with nasal polyposis: injection site reactions, eye and eyelid inflammation, including redness, swelling, and itching, sometimes with blurred vision, 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 by your healthcare provider. It's an injection given under the skin (subcutaneous injection). Your healthcare provider will decide if you or your caregiver can inject DUPIXENT. Do not try to prepare and inject DUPIXENT until you or your caregiver have been trained by your healthcare provider. In children 12 years of age and older, it's recommended DUPIXENT be administered by or under supervision of an adult. In children under 12 years of age, DUPIXENT should be given by a caregiver.
Please see accompanying 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 nearly 35 years by physician-scientists, our unique ability to repeatedly and consistently translate science into medicine has led to nine FDA-approved treatments and numerous 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, pain, 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 additional information about the company, please visit www.regeneron.com or follow @Regeneron on Twitter.
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.
Regeneron Forward-Looking Statements and Use of Digital Media
This press release includes forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties relating to future events and the future performance of Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, Inc. ("Regeneron" or the "Company"), and actual events or results may differ materially from these forward-looking statements. Words such as "anticipate," "expect," "intend," "plan," "believe," "seek," "estimate," variations of such words, and similar expressions are intended to identify such forward-looking statements, although not all forward-looking statements contain these identifying words. These statements concern, and these risks and uncertainties include, among others, the impact of SARS-CoV-2 (the virus that has caused the COVID-19 pandemic) on Regeneron's business and its employees, collaborators, and suppliers and other third parties on which Regeneron relies, Regeneron's and its collaborators' ability to continue to conduct research and clinical programs, Regeneron's ability to manage its supply chain, net product sales of products marketed or otherwise commercialized by Regeneron and/or its collaborators or licensees (collectively, "Regeneron's Products"), and the global economy; the nature, timing, and possible success and therapeutic applications of Regeneron's Products and product candidates being developed by Regeneron and/or its collaborators or licensees (collectively, "Regeneron's Product Candidates") and research and clinical programs now underway or planned, including without limitation Dupixent® (dupilumab) for the treatment of eosinophilic esophagitis; the likelihood, timing, and scope of possible regulatory approval and commercial launch of Regeneron's Product Candidates and new indications for Regeneron's Products, such as Dupixent for the treatment of eosinophilic esophagitis (including potential approval by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration based on the supplemental Biologics License Application discussed in this press release), chronic obstructive pulmonary disease with evidence of type 2 inflammation, pediatric atopic dermatitis, bullous pemphigoid, prurigo nodularis, chronic spontaneous urticaria, chronic inducible urticaria-cold, chronic rhinosinusitis without nasal polyposis, allergic fungal rhinosinusitis, allergic bronchopulmonary aspergillosis, peanut allergy, and other potential indications; uncertainty of the utilization, market acceptance, and commercial success of Regeneron's Products (such as Dupixent) and Regeneron's Product Candidates and the impact of studies (whether conducted by Regeneron or others and whether mandated or voluntary), including the studies discussed or referenced in this press release, on any of the foregoing or any potential regulatory approval of Regeneron's Products (such as Dupixent) and Regeneron's Product Candidates; the ability of Regeneron's collaborators, licensees, suppliers, or other third parties (as applicable) to perform manufacturing, filling, finishing, packaging, labeling, distribution, and other steps related to Regeneron's Products and Regeneron's Product Candidates; the ability of Regeneron to manage supply chains for multiple products and product candidates; safety issues resulting from the administration of Regeneron's Products (such as Dupixent) and Regeneron's Product Candidates in patients, including serious complications or side effects in connection with the use of Regeneron's Products and Regeneron's Product Candidates in clinical trials; determinations by regulatory and administrative governmental authorities which may delay or restrict Regeneron's ability to continue to develop or commercialize Regeneron's Products and Regeneron's Product Candidates, including without limitation Dupixent; ongoing regulatory obligations and oversight impacting Regeneron's Products, research and clinical programs, and business, including those relating to patient privacy; the availability and extent of reimbursement of Regeneron's Products from third-party payers, including private payer healthcare and insurance programs, health maintenance organizations, pharmacy benefit management companies, and government programs such as Medicare and Medicaid; coverage and reimbursement determinations by such payers and new policies and procedures adopted by such payers; competing drugs and product candidates that may be superior to, or more cost effective than, Regeneron's Products and Regeneron's Product Candidates; the extent to which the results from the research and development programs conducted by Regeneron and/or its collaborators or licensees may be replicated in other studies and/or lead to advancement of product candidates to clinical trials, therapeutic applications, or regulatory approval; unanticipated expenses; the costs of developing, producing, and selling products; the ability of Regeneron to meet any of its financial projections or guidance and changes to the assumptions underlying those projections or guidance; the potential for any license, collaboration, or supply agreement, including Regeneron's agreements with Sanofi, Bayer, and Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. (or their respective affiliated companies, as applicable) to be cancelled or terminated; and risks associated with intellectual property of other parties and pending or future litigation relating thereto (including without limitation the patent litigation and other related proceedings relating to EYLEA® (aflibercept) Injection, Dupixent, Praluent® (alirocumab), and REGEN-COV® (casirivimab and imdevimab)), other litigation and other proceedings and government investigations relating to the Company and/or its operations, the ultimate outcome of any such proceedings and investigations, and the impact any of the foregoing may have on Regeneron's business, prospects, operating results, and financial condition. A more complete description of these and other material risks can be found in Regeneron's filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, including its Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2021. Any forward-looking statements are made based on management's current beliefs and judgment, and the reader is cautioned not to rely on any forward-looking statements made by Regeneron. Regeneron does not undertake any obligation to update (publicly or otherwise) any forward-looking statement, including without limitation any financial projection or guidance, whether as a result of new information, future events, or otherwise.
Regeneron uses its media and investor relations website and social media outlets to publish important information about the Company, including information that may be deemed material to investors. Financial and other information about Regeneron is routinely posted and is accessible on Regeneron's media and investor relations website (http://newsroom.regeneron.com) and its Twitter feed (http://twitter.com/regeneron).
Sanofi Forward-Looking Statements
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FAQ
What is the FDA's decision date for Dupixent regarding eosinophilic esophagitis?
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What significant trial results support Dupixent's application?
What distinguishes Dupixent from other treatments for eosinophilic esophagitis?
What is eosinophilic esophagitis?
