Genzyme's Lemtrada Approved by the FDA

18-Nov-2014 - USA

Sanofi and its subsidiary Genzyme announced today that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved LemtradaTM (alemtuzumab) for the treatment of patients with relapsing forms of multiple sclerosis (MS). Because of its safety profile, the use of Lemtrada should generally be reserved for patients who have had an inadequate response to two or more drugs indicated for the treatment of MS.

"Today's approval is the culmination of more than a decade of work by Genzyme to develop Lemtrada," said Genzyme President and CEO, David Meeker. "Lemtrada demonstrated superior efficacy over Rebif on annualized relapse rates in the two studies which were the basis for approval. A comprehensive risk evaluation and mitigation strategy (REMS) will be instituted in order to help detect and manage the serious risks identified with treatment."

The FDA approval of Lemtrada is based on two pivotal randomized Phase III open-label rater-blinded studies comparing treatment with Lemtrada to Rebif® (high-dose subcutaneous interferon beta-1a) in patients with relapsing remitting MS who were either new to treatment (CARE-MS I) or who had relapsed while on prior therapy (CARE-MS II).

In CARE-MS I, Lemtrada was significantly more effective than interferon beta-1a at reducing annualized relapse rates; the difference observed in slowing disability progression did not reach statistical significance. In CARE-MS II, Lemtrada was significantly more effective than interferon beta-1a at reducing annualized relapse rates, and accumulation of disability was significantly slowed in patients given Lemtrada vs. interferon beta-1a. The clinical development program for Lemtrada involved nearly 1,500 patients with more than 6,400 patient-years of safety follow-up.

"The unmet need in MS remains high," said Edward Fox, M.D., Ph.D., Director of the Multiple Sclerosis Clinic of Central Texas. "It is a great day for people living with relapsing forms of MS in the United States, who will now have access to this new meaningful treatment".

First approved in September 2013 in the European Union, Lemtrada is approved in more than 40 countries. Additional marketing applications for Lemtrada are under review by regulatory agencies around the world.

https://www.bionity.com/en/news/150528/genzyme-s-lemtrada-approved-by-the-fda.html