Positive Dupixent® (dupilumab) Phase 3 Data in Children Aged 6 Months to 5 Years with Moderate-to-severe Atopic Dermatitis Published in The Lancet
Regeneron Pharmaceuticals and Sanofi announced the publication of significant Phase 3 trial results for Dupixent (dupilumab) in treating children aged 6 months to 5 years with uncontrolled atopic dermatitis. The study demonstrated that Dupixent, in combination with low-potency topical corticosteroids, improved skin clearance, reduced severity of disease, and lessened itch compared to placebo. Safety profiles were consistent with older children. The FDA approved Dupixent for this age group in June 2022, with further regulatory reviews ongoing in Europe.
- Dupixent significantly improved skin clearance and overall disease severity in young children.
- The trial demonstrated improved sleep and reduced pain in patients treated with Dupixent.
- FDA approval for Dupixent in children aged 6 months to 5 years was granted in June 2022.
- The safety and efficacy of Dupixent in this age group have not been fully evaluated by regulatory authorities outside the U.S.
Dupixent is the first and only biologic that significantly improved skin clearance, and reduced itch and overall disease severity in children as young as 6 months old in a Phase 3 trial
Published results reinforce well-established efficacy and safety profile of Dupixent across age groups
TARRYTOWN, N.Y. and PARIS, Sept. 15, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ: REGN) and Sanofi today announced that The Lancet has published positive results from a Phase 3 Dupixent® (dupilumab) trial in children aged 6 months to 5 years with uncontrolled moderate-to-severe atopic dermatitis. These data were the basis for the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval of Dupixent in June 2022 and for a regulatory submission currently under review by the European Medicines Agency.
"The Lancet's publication of these Phase 3 results is a testament to the significance of the data showing dupilumab can alleviate the multidimensional burden that moderate-to-severe atopic dermatitis places on infants, toddlers and their families," said Amy S. Paller, M.D., Walter J. Hamlin Professor and Chair of Dermatology and Professor of Pediatrics at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, and principal investigator of the trial. "By addressing the key inflammatory pathway driving atopic dermatitis, the trial demonstrated that dupilumab not only addressed debilitating symptoms like persistent itch and skin lesions, but also meaningfully improved sleep and reduced pain – two aspects of daily life that are critical for any child's development and well-being."
Data from this trial showed that adding Dupixent to low-potency topical corticosteroids (TCS) significantly improved skin clearance and reduced overall disease severity and itch compared to TCS alone (placebo) at 16 weeks. Additionally, Dupixent patients experienced significant improvement in measures of sleep quality and skin pain, as well as patient- or caregiver-reported outcomes and health-related quality of life. A substantially lower proportion of Dupixent patients needed rescue medications, compared to those on placebo.
Safety results through 16 weeks were similar to the safety profile in patients 6 years and older with atopic dermatitis. Adverse events that were more commonly observed with Dupixent (≥
The safety and efficacy of Dupixent in children 6 months to 5 years of age with uncontrolled atopic dermatitis has not been fully evaluated by any regulatory authority outside the U.S.
About Atopic Dermatitis
Atopic dermatitis is a chronic type 2 inflammatory skin disease. Eighty-five to ninety percent of patients first develop symptoms before 5 years of age, which can often continue through adulthood. Symptoms include intense, persistent itch and skin lesions that cover much of the body, resulting in skin dryness, cracking, pain, redness or darkening, and crusting and oozing. In the U.S., more than 75,000 children aged 5 years and younger have uncontrolled moderate-to-severe disease and are most in need of new treatment options. Moderate-to-severe atopic dermatitis may also significantly impact the quality of life of a young child and their caregivers. Current treatment options in this age group are primarily topical steroids, which can be associated with safety risks and may impair growth when used long-term.
About the Dupixent Trial
The Phase 3 randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial evaluated the efficacy and safety of Dupixent added to standard-of-care low-potency TCS compared to low-potency TCS alone in 162 children aged 6 months to 5 years with uncontrolled moderate-to-severe atopic dermatitis. Patients treated with Dupixent received either 200 mg or 300 mg (based on weight) every four weeks.
The primary endpoints assessed the proportion of patients achieving an Investigator's Global Assessment (IGA) score of 0 (clear) or 1 (almost clear) and at least a
Secondary endpoints further assessed disease measures and quality of life. Disease measures included additional EASI outcomes, itch reduction, percent of body surface area affected, skin pain, disease severity as measured by the Patient Oriented Eczema Measure, as well as SCORing Atopic Dermatitis measuring a combined assessment of disease area and severity, itch and sleep. Quality of life measures were assessed for children (by Children's Dermatology Life Quality Index for children aged 4 to 17 years and Infants' Dermatitis Quality of Life Index for children less than 4 years of age) and families (by the Dermatitis Family Impact questionnaire), as well as sleep quality.
Children who completed the trial were eligible to enroll in an open-label extension to assess the safety and efficacy of long-term treatment with Dupixent in this age group.
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. The Dupixent development program has shown significant clinical benefit and a decrease in type 2 inflammation in Phase 3 trials, establishing that IL-4 and IL-13 are key and central drivers of the type 2 inflammation that plays a major role in multiple related and often co-morbid diseases. These diseases include approved indications for Dupixent such as asthma, atopic dermatitis, chronic rhinosinusitis with nasal polyposis (CRSwNP) and eosinophilic esophagitis (EoE), as well as investigational diseases such as prurigo nodularis.
Dupixent has received regulatory approvals around the world for use in certain patients with atopic dermatitis, asthma, CRSwNP or EoE in different age populations. Dupixent is currently approved across these indications in the U.S. and for one or more of these indications in more than 60 countries, including in the European Union and Japan. More than 500,000 patients have been treated with Dupixent 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 co-Founder, 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 one in five of all original, FDA-approved or authorized fully human monoclonal antibodies. This includes REGEN-COV® (casirivimab and imdevimab), Dupixent, 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 in Phase 3 trials, including prurigo nodularis, pediatric eosinophilic esophagitis, hand and foot atopic dermatitis, chronic inducible urticaria-cold, chronic spontaneous urticaria, chronic pruritis of unknown origin, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease with evidence of type 2 inflammation, chronic rhinosinusitis without nasal polyposis, allergic fungal rhinosinusitis, allergic bronchopulmonary aspergillosis and bullous pemphigoid. 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 months 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 months 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.
- to treat adults and children 12 years of age and older, who weigh at least 88
pounds (40 kg), with eosinophilic esophagitis (EoE). It is not known if DUPIXENT is safe and effective in children with eosinophilic esophagitis under 12 years of age and who weigh at least 88pounds (40 kg).
IMPORTANT SAFETY INFORMATION
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 CRSwNP, or EoE, 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, cold sores in your mouth or on your lips, and high count of a certain white blood cell (eosinophilia).
- 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).
- Eosinophilic esophagitis: injection site reactions, upper respiratory tract infections, cold sores in your mouth or on your lips, 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 is a leading biotechnology company that invents, develops and commercializes 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 more information, 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 children aged 6 months to 5 years with moderate-to-severe atopic dermatitis; 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 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 chronic obstructive pulmonary disease with evidence of type 2 inflammation, hand and foot atopic dermatitis, pediatric eosinophilic esophagitis, bullous pemphigoid, prurigo nodularis, chronic spontaneous urticaria, chronic pruritis of unknown origin, chronic inducible urticaria-cold, chronic rhinosinusitis without nasal polyposis, allergic fungal rhinosinusitis, allergic bronchopulmonary aspergillosis, and other potential indications; the ability of Regeneron's collaborators, 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 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 or collaboration 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 fiscal year ended December 31, 2021 and its Form 10-Q for the quarterly period ended June 30, 2022. 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 Disclaimers or Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains forward-looking statements as defined in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, as amended. Forward-looking statements are statements that are not historical facts. These statements include projections and estimates regarding the marketing and other potential of the product, or regarding potential future revenues from the product. Forward-looking statements are generally identified by the words "expects", "anticipates", "believes", "intends", "estimates", "plans" and similar expressions. Although Sanofi's management believes that the expectations reflected in such forward-looking statements are reasonable, investors are cautioned that forward-looking information and statements are subject to various risks and uncertainties, many of which are difficult to predict and generally beyond the control of Sanofi, that could cause actual results and developments to differ materially from those expressed in, or implied or projected by, the forward-looking information and statements. These risks and uncertainties include among other things, unexpected regulatory actions or delays, or government regulation generally, that could affect the availability or commercial potential of the product, the fact that product may not be commercially successful, the uncertainties inherent in research and development, including future clinical data and analysis of existing clinical data relating to the product, including post marketing, unexpected safety, quality or manufacturing issues, competition in general, risks associated with intellectual property and any related future litigation and the ultimate outcome of such litigation, and volatile economic and market conditions, and the impact that COVID-19 will have on us, our customers, suppliers, vendors, and other business partners, and the financial condition of any one of them, as well as on our employees and on the global economy as a whole. Any material effect of COVID-19 on any of the foregoing could also adversely impact us. This situation is changing rapidly and additional impacts may arise of which we are not currently aware and may exacerbate other previously identified risks. The risks and uncertainties also include the uncertainties discussed or identified in the public filings with the SEC and the AMF made by Sanofi, including those listed under "Risk Factors" and "Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward-Looking Statements" in Sanofi's annual report on Form 20-F for the year ended December 31, 2021. Other than as required by applicable law, Sanofi does not undertake any obligation to update or revise any forward-looking information or statements.
Regeneron Contacts: | |
Media Relations Hannah Kwagh Tel: +1 914-847-6314 | Investor Relations Vesna Tosic Tel: +1 914-847-5443 |
Sanofi Contacts: | |
Media Relations Sally Bain Tel: +1 617-834-6026 | Investor Relations Eva Schaefer-Jansen Tel: +33 7 86 80 56 39 |
Arnaud Delepine Tel: +33 (0)6 73 69 36 93 | |
Corentine Driancourt Tel: +33 (0)6 40 56 92 corentine.driancourt@sanofi.com
| |
Felix Lauscher Tel: +1 908-612-7239 | |
Priya Nanduri Tel: +1 617 764 6418 | |
Nathalie Pham Tel: +33 (0)7 85 93 30 17 |
View original content:SOURCE Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
FAQ
What are the results of the Phase 3 Dupixent trial for children?
When was Dupixent approved by the FDA for young children?
What is the safety profile of Dupixent for children under 6 years?
What are the implications of the Dupixent trial findings for investors in REGN and SNY?
What does Dupixent treat in children?
