Showing posts with label Positive. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Positive. Show all posts

Medivir AB Announces Positive Phase 2b 48-week (SVR24) Interim Results of TMC435 in Treatment-Naive Patients Chronically Infected With Genotype-1 Hepatitis C Virus


HUDDINGE, Sweden, February 22, 2011 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Medivir AB (OMX: MVIR), the emerging research-based specialty pharmaceutical company focused on infectious diseases, announces today further positive results from the phase 2b PILLAR (C205) study of TMC435 in treatment-naive patients with hepatitis C virus (HCV) genotype-1.

- TMC435 was safe and well tolerated with no clinically relevant differences in adverse events between treatment groups and standard of care (SoC). - In the TMC435 treatment groups 83% of patients were able to stop all therapy at week 24 - Potent and consistent antiviral efficacy was demonstrated with SVR24 rates of up to 84%

"We are very pleased by both the efficacy and safety shown by TMC435 in this 48-Week interim analysis. With the additional features of once daily dosing, TMC435 also has a more convenient and competitive dosing regimen" stated Bertil Samuelsson, CSO of Medivir. "The recently published start of three global phase 3 clinical trials is an important milestone in the continued development of TMC435. We are now looking forward to the 48-week interim data from the phase 2b trial C206 (ASPIRE) in treatment-experienced patients during Q2 2011."

The 48-week interim results from the 5-arm phase 2b response guided PILLAR study in 386 treatment-naive patients showed further consistent high antiviral activity, and the good safety and tolerability previously demonstrated was confirmed. The 24-week (EOT) interim results were presented at the AASLD conference in Boston, MA, in November 2010.

Study design

In the PILLAR study, 75mg or 150mg TMC435 was given for either 12 or 24 weeks in combination with 24 weeks of ribavirin and pegIFNalpha-2A, the current standard of care (SoC). Patients in the TMC435 arms stopped all treatment at week 24 if certain predefined response-guided criteria were met. In the TMC435 treatment groups 83% of patients were able to stop all therapy at week 24. Patients who did not meet the above response-guided criteria continued with SoC until week 48 as did the placebo group.

Evaluation criteria

A protocol-defined interim analysis was performed when all patients completed their Week 48 visit or discontinued treatment earlier. Final SVR4 and SVR24 data were available for 98% (303/309; n/N) and 93% (288/309; n/N) of TMC435 treated patients, respectively. SVR24 is determined 24 weeks after the planned end of treatment (EoT) and was therefore not yet available for the patients in the placebo group and for some of those in the TMC435 group who received 48 weeks of treatment. SVR4, which is determined 4 weeks after the planned EoT, was available for 77% (59/77; n/M) of the patients in the placebo group.

Results - Efficacy

Potent and sustained antiviral efficacy was demonstrated in the SVR4 and SVR24 rates with no major differences between TMC435 doses or length of triple therapy. At week 4 after cessation of treatment 87.2%, 86.5%, 84.9% and 88.5% of patients taking TMC435 and Peg-IFN/RBV (SoC) achieved undetectable HCV RNA levels. At week 24 after cessation of treatment 83.6%, 76.1%, 83.1% and 84.4% of patients taking TMC435 and Peg-IFN/RBV (SoC) achieved undetectable HCV RNA levels, i.e. SVR24. At week 4 after cessation of treatment 71.2% in the placebo SoC group had achieved undetectable HCV RNA levels.

The results are derived from an intent-to-treat (ITT) analysis of the patient population who took at least one dose of the study medication and who reached the criteria for stopping all treatment at 24 weeks (83%).

Sustained Virological Response 4 and 24 Weeks after Planned End of Treatment (EoT);

TMC435 TMC435 TMC435 TMC435 Placebo 12PR24 24PR24 12PR24 24PR24 75mg q.d. 75mg q.d. 150mg q.d. 150mg q.d. % (n/N) N=78 N=75 N=77 N=79 N=77 SVR4 87.2 (68/78) 86.5 (64/74) 84.9 (62/73) 88.5 (69/78) 71.2 (42/59) SVR24 83.6 (61/73) 76.1 (51/67) 83.1 (59/71) 84.4 (65/77) N/A

* < 25 log10 IU/mL undetectable q.d.: once daily, PR: pegIFNalpha-2A and ribavirin,

SVR4 and SVR24: patients with undetectable HCV RNA 4 and 24 weeks after planned EoT, respectively. N/A: Patients in the control arm continue SoC until Week 48 and SVR24 data was not available

Results - Safety and Tolerability

TMC435 was generally safe and well tolerated and overall incidence of adverse events (AEs) was similar across treatment groups. AEs leading to discontinuation of TMC435 or placebo treatment were reported in 7.8% of the placebo subjects and in 7.1% of the TMC435 treated subjects. In the safety analyses, special attention was given to the following AEs of interest: hepatobiliary AEs, pruritus, rash, anemia, and cardiac events. For each category of AEs of interest; the incidence was similar between TMC435 and placebo.

In laboratory parameters, there were no clinically relevant differences between any TMC435 groups and placebo except for mild on treatment reversible bilirubin elevations (total, direct and indirect) in the 150 mg TMC435 arm, which were normalized after TMC435 dosing was completed. There were no meaningful differences between treatment groups for any of the other laboratory parameters. Significant and rapid decreases in transaminases (ALT and AST) were observed in all TMC435 treatment groups.

Conference Call For Analysts and Investors:

There will be a conference call today, February 22 2011, for investors and sell-side analysts at 09:00 (EDT) / 14:00 (GMT) / 15:00 (CET) with the management team of Medivir to discuss this announcement. To dial-in to the conference call please use the following numbers:

Participant Telephone Numbers: +1-718-354-1385 USA +46(0)8-5352-6408 Sweden +44(0)20-7806-1951 UK Confirmation Code: 6641746

Alternatively, please contact Lindsey Neville at M:Communications on Tel: +44(0)207-920-2333, Email: Neville@mcomgroup.com.

Notes to Editors

About TMC435 in other clinical studies

TMC435 is a once-daily (q.d.) protease inhibitor drug jointly developed by Medivir and Tibotec Pharmaceuticals, to treat chronic hepatitis C virus infections.

The clinical phase 3 program started recently including

- TMC435-C208 or QUEST-1 includes approximately 375 treatment-naive patients - TMC435-C216 or QUEST-2 includes approximately 375 treatment-naive patients - TMC435-C3007 or PROMISE includes approximately 375 who have relapsed after prior interferon-based treatment

In parallel to the recent start of the global phase 3-studies, TMC435 is currently in a follow up phase in three phase 2b clinical trials (TMC435-C205, TMC435-C206 and TMC435-C215) in G1 treatment-naive and in G1 patients that failed previous IFN-based treatment. More safety and efficacy data from the phase 2b trials will be presented at scientific meetings later in 2011.

A phase 3 program for TMC435 has also recently been launched in Japan.

For additional information for these studies, please see http://www.clinicaltrials.gov

About Hepatitis C

Hepatitis C is a blood-borne infectious disease of the liver and is a leading cause of chronic liver disease and liver transplants. The WHO estimates that nearly 180 million people worldwide, or approximately 3% of the world's population, are infected with hepatitis C virus (HCV). The CDC has reported that almost three million people in the United States are chronically infected with HCV.

About Medivir

Medivir is an emerging research-based specialty pharmaceutical company focused on the development of high-value treatments for infectious diseases. Medivir has world class expertise in polymerase and protease drug targets and drug development. Medivir has a strong R&D portfolio and has recently launched its first product Xerese(TM)/Xerclear(R). Medivir's key pipeline asset, TMC435, a protease inhibitor, recently entered global phase 3 development for the treatment of hepatitis C and is partnered with Tibotec Pharmaceuticals.

Xerese(TM)/Xerclear(R) is an innovative treatment for cold sores, which has been approved in both the US and Europe. It is partnered with GlaxoSmithKline to be sold OTC in Europe and Russia and with Meda AB in North America. Medivir has retained the Rx rights for Xerclear(R) in Sweden and Finland.

For more information on Medivir, please see the company website: http://www.medivir.com

For additional information, please contact

Medivir (http://www.medivir.se)

Rein Piir, CFO & VP Investor Relations Mobile: +46-708-537-292 M:Communications

Europe: Mary-Jane Elliott/ Amber Bielecka /Nick Francis Medivir@mcomgroup.com +44(0)20-7920-2330

USA: Roland Tomforde +1-212-232-2356

Read more >>
Bookmark and Share

Medivation, Inc. and Astellas Pharma Inc. Announce Positive New, Long-Term Follow-Up Data From Phase 1-2 Trial of MDV3100 in Advanced Prostate Cancer Patients

SAN FRANCISCO, CA and TOKYO--(Marketwire - 02/15/11) - Medivation, Inc. (NASDAQ:MDVN - News) and Astellas Pharma Inc. today announced positive, new, long-term follow-up data from the Phase 1-2 trial of MDV3100 in patients with advanced prostate cancer. MDV3100 is a novel, triple-acting, oral androgen receptor antagonist. These new results showed that MDV3100 continues to show durable antitumor activity as evaluated by median times to prostate-specific antigen (PSA) progression and radiographic progression. These findings confirm the initial Phase 1-2 results published in The Lancet, in which MDV3100 consistently demonstrated anti-tumor activity in both chemotherapy-naïve and post-chemotherapy patients across endpoints, as evaluated by PSA levels, radiographic findings and circulating tumor cell (CTC) counts.

"We are very encouraged by these promising new, long-term efficacy findings, which continue to demonstrate the antitumor activity of MDV3100 and give us confidence that MDV3100 has the potential to benefit patients with advanced prostate cancer," said Lynn Seely, M.D., chief medical officer of Medivation.

Long-Term Follow-Up Results A total of 140 men with progressive disease were enrolled in the Phase 1-2 trial between July 2007 and December 2008. Of those, 18 remained on active treatment (16 chemotherapy-naive and 2 post-chemotherapy) at the time of this analysis.

PSA progression data were calculated using three distinct reporting criteria: the criteria specified in the Phase 1-2 trial protocol; the most recent published PSA reporting consensus criteria (the Prostate Cancer Clinical Trials Working Group 2, or PCWG2, criteria)(1); and an older commonly used reporting method (the Prostate-Specific Antigen Working Group 1, or PSAWG1, criteria)(2).

Median times to PSA progression presented in the poster are as follows:

-------------------------------------------------------------------------- Time to PSA Progression Chemotherapy-Naïve Post-Chemotherapy (n=65) (n=75) -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Per-protocol criteria Not reached 316 days (45 weeks)

-------------------------------------------------------------------------- PCWG2 criteria 281 days (40 weeks) 148 days (21 weeks)

-------------------------------------------------------------------------- PSAWG1 criteria 420 days (60 weeks) * 166 days (24 weeks) 812 days (116 weeks) ** --------------------------------------------------------------------------

*All chemotherapy-naïve patients **Subpopulation of chemotherapy-naïve patients who were also ketoconazole-naïve

The protocol-specified criteria define PSA progression as a 25% increase in PSA from starting baseline, provided that the increase is at least 5 ng/mL. This is the most liberal approach, and will produce the longest times to progression. The PCWG2 criteria define PSA progression as a 25% increase in PSA from nadir (i.e., from the lowest level of PSA attained by the patient on study), provided that the increase is at least 2 ng/mL. Under the PSAWG1 criteria, PSA progression requires: a 50% increase in PSA above nadir for patients who experienced a PSA decline of 50% on treatment; a 25% increase in PSA above nadir for patients who experienced a PSA decline < 50% on treatment; and a 25% increase in PSA above starting baseline for patients who did not experience any PSA decline on treatment; provided in each case that the PSA increase was at least 5 ng/mL. This is an intermediate approach to defining PSA progression, producing times to progression between those produced using the other two approaches.

The median times to radiographic progression presented in the poster are as follows:

--------------------------------------------- Chemotherapy-Naïve Post-Chemotherapy (n=65) (n=75) --------------------------------------------- 392 days (56 weeks) 175 days (25 weeks) ---------------------------------------------

Circulating tumor cell counts were available for 128 of 140 patients. Of those, 70 of 77 (91%) who had favorable pre-treatment counts ( < 5 cells/7.5 mL blood) remained favorable post-treatment, and 25 of 51 patients (49%) converted from unfavorable pre-treatment counts to favorable post-treatment counts.

"These positive long-term findings in both chemotherapy-naïve and post-chemotherapy advanced prostate cancer patients provide further support for our expanded development program into earlier-stage prostate cancer patients," said Steven Ryder, M.D., president, Astellas Pharma Global Development. "In addition to the ongoing Phase 3 PREVAIL trial, which is currently enrolling men with advanced prostate cancer who are chemotherapy-naïve, we and our partner Medivation plan to initiate two Phase 2 trials in earlier-stage prostate cancer in the first half of this year."

The new long-term follow-up findings will be presented in a poster session at the American Society of Clinical Oncology's Genitourinary Cancers Symposium (ASCO-GU) in Orlando, Fla. on Thursday, February 17 (poster board #A71). The poster will include the most up-to-date data from the trial and will expand upon the results originally submitted in the abstract. The abstract (#177), titled "Antitumor activity of MDV3100 in pre- and post-docetaxel advanced prostate cancer: long-term follow-up of the Phase 1-2 study," is currently available on the ASCO website at www.ASCO.org.

Phase 1-2 Trial Design All patients in the open-label, dose-escalation, Phase 1-2 clinical trial had progressive disease upon enrollment and were heavily pretreated, with 77 percent having failed at least two lines of prior hormonal therapy and 54 percent having failed one or more chemotherapy regimens. A total of 140 men were enrolled in the trial, which evaluated MDV3100 doses between 30 and 600 mg/day. Patients could remain on treatment for as long as they continued to tolerate the drug and their disease did not progress. Efficacy endpoints included CTC counts, serum PSA levels, and soft tissue and bony metastases.

MDV3100 Phase 3 Clinical Development Program MDV3100 is currently being evaluated in two global Phase 3 studies in patients with advanced prostate cancer.

The randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled Phase 3 AFFIRM trial completed enrollment in November 2010. This trial of 1,199 patients with advanced prostate cancer who were previously treated with chemotherapy is evaluating 160 mg/day of MDV3100 versus placebo. The primary endpoint is overall survival, and secondary endpoints include progression-free survival, safety and tolerability.

A second Phase 3 clinical trial of MDV3100 in advanced prostate cancer, the PREVAIL trial, is currently enrolling patients. This randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, multi-national trial of approximately 1,700 patients with advanced prostate cancer is evaluating MDV3100 at a dose of 160 mg taken orally once daily plus standard of care versus placebo plus standard of care. The co-primary endpoints of the trial are overall survival and progression-free survival; secondary endpoints include time to first skeletal-related event and time to initiation of cytotoxic chemotherapy. Information about patient eligibility and enrollment can be obtained by calling the PREVAIL study hotline toll-free at 1-888-243-4363.

About the Medivation/Astellas Collaboration In October 2009, Medivation and Astellas entered into a global agreement to jointly develop and commercialize MDV3100. The companies are collaborating on a comprehensive development program that includes studies to develop MDV3100 for both early-stage and advanced prostate cancer. Subject to receipt of regulatory approval, the companies will jointly commercialize MDV3100 in the U.S. and Astellas will have responsibility for commercializing MDV3100 outside the U.S. Medivation received a $110 million up-front payment upon entering into the collaboration agreement, and is eligible to receive up to $335 million in development milestone payments, up to $320 million in commercial milestone payments, 50% of profits on sales in the U.S., and tiered, double-digit royalties on sales outside the U.S.

About MDV3100 MDV3100 is an investigational therapy in clinical development for advanced prostate cancer. In preclinical experiments published in Science in April 2009(3), the novel, triple-acting, oral androgen receptor antagonist provided more compIete suppression of the androgen receptor pathway than bicalutamide, the most commonly used anti-androgen. MDV3100 slows growth and induces cell death in bicalutamide-resistant cancers via three complementary actions - MDV3100 blocks testosterone binding to the androgen receptor, impedes movement of the androgen receptor to the nucleus of prostate cancer cells (nuclear translocation) and inhibits binding to DNA. In the preclinical experiments published in Science, MDV3100 was superior to bicalutamide in each of these three actions.

About Prostate Cancer Prostate cancer is the second most common non-skin cancer among men in the world and it is the sixth leading cause of cancer death among men worldwide. Patients whose prostate tumors have stopped responding to, or are growing despite the use of, active hormone treatment strategies are considered to have advanced prostate cancer. These patients have a poor prognosis and few treatment options.

About Medivation Medivation, Inc. is a biopharmaceutical company focused on the rapid development of novel small molecule drugs to treat serious diseases for which there are limited treatment options. Medivation aims to transform the treatment of these diseases and offer hope to critically ill patients and their caregivers. Together with its corporate partners Astellas and Pfizer, Medivation currently has investigational drugs in Phase 3 development to treat advanced prostate cancer, mild-to-moderate Alzheimer's disease and Huntington disease. For more information, please visit us at www.medivation.com.

About Astellas Pharma Inc. Astellas Pharma Inc., located in Tokyo, Japan, is a pharmaceutical company dedicated to improving the health of people around the world through provision of innovative and reliable pharmaceuticals. Astellas has approximately 16,000 employees worldwide. The organization is committed to becoming a global category leader in Urology, Immunology & Infectious Diseases, Neuroscience, DM complications & Metabolic Diseases and Oncology. For more information on Astellas Pharma Inc., please visit our website at www.astellas.com/en.

This press release contains forward-looking statements, including statements regarding the continued clinical development of Medivation's product candidates, the therapeutic and commercial potential of Medivation's product candidates and the continued effectiveness of, and continuing collaborative activities under, Medivation's collaboration agreements with Pfizer and Astellas, which are made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Any statements contained in this press release that are not statements of historical fact may be deemed to be forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties that could cause Medivation's actual results to differ significantly from those projected, including, without limitation, risks related to progress, timing and results of Medivation's clinical trials, including the risk that adverse clinical trial results could alone or together with other factors result in the delay or discontinuation of some or all of Medivation's product development activities, enrollment of patients in Medivation's clinical trials, partnering of Medivation's product candidates, including Medivation's dependence on the efforts of and funding by Astellas for the development of MDV3100 and other risks detailed in Medivation's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including its quarterly report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended September 30, 2010, filed on November 5, 2010 with the SEC. You are cautioned not to place undue reliance on the forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date of this release. Medivation disclaims any obligation or undertaking to update or revise any forward-looking statements contained in this press release.

(1) Scher, J Clin Oncol 26:1148-1159 (2008). (2) Bubley, J Clin Oncol 17:3461-3467 (1999). 3 Tran C, et al., Science. 2009;324:787-790.

Contacts: Medivation, Inc. Patrick Machado Chief Business Officer (415) 829-4101 WCG Nicole Foderaro (415) 946-1058 Astellas Jenny Keeney 847-317-5405

Read more >>
Bookmark and Share