The FINANCIAL — Roche on June 10 announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has granted breakthrough therapy designation (BTD) status to ACTEMRA/RoACTEMRA (tocilizumab) for systemic sclerosis (SSc). This designation is designed to expedite the development and review of medicines intended to treat serious diseases, and to help ensure patients have access to them as soon as possible. Roche also initiated a global Phase 3 study in SSc (NCT02453256).
In addition, new data from the U-ACT-EARLY and TENDER studies in patients with early rheumatoid arthritis (RA)1 and systemic juvenile idiopathic arthritis (sJIA)2, respectively, as well as results from the Phase 2 faSScinate study in SSc5 will be presented this week at the annual congress of the European League Against Rheumatism (EULAR 2015), Rome, 10 to 13 June, according to Roche.
“Close to 500,000 people worldwide have benefited from treatment with ACTEMRA/RoACTEMRA since initial approval over a decade ago. The breadth of our study results at EULAR, ranging from arthritis in adults and children to a rare inflammatory disorder, underscores our commitment to helping people with debilitating autoimmune diseases,” said Sandra Horning, M.D., Roche’s Head of Global Product Development and Chief Medical Officer. “These new data further demonstrate the efficacy and safety of ACTEMRA/RoACTEMRA in multiple diseases, including use as a single therapy in early RA.”
ACTEMRA/RoACTEMRA in early RA
ACTEMRA/RoACTEMRA has been proven to help people with RA protect against damage to their joints and have a better quality of life.6,7 Clinical research has shown that effective treatment during the early phase of the disease may prevent irreversible damage to joints and long-term disability.8,9 In patients who were diagnosed less than a year prior to study enrolment with no history of any previous disease-modifying therapy, ACTEMRA/RoACTEMRA nearly doubled sustained remission (SR) rates with comparable results as monotherapy and combination. SR rates were 84% for ACTEMRA/RoACTEMRA monotherapy, 86% for ACTEMRA/RoACTEMRA + methotrexate (MTX), and 44% for MTX alone.1 Median time to SR was seen in just over two months: 9.9 weeks for ACTEMRA/RoACTEMRA + MTX and 12.7 weeks for ACTEMRA/RoACTEMRA monotherapy (MTX alone results were not measurable).1 The safety profile was comparable with previously reported data.1 Full results from the U-ACT-EARLY study will be presented as an oral presentation at EULAR 2015 (OP0033; presentation date: Thursday, 11 June,2015).
ACTEMRA/RoACTEMRA in systemic juvenile idiopathic arthritis (sJIA)
Juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA) affects approximately 100 in every 100,000 children,10 of which sJIA – a rare and severe form of childhood arthritis – accounts for 10 to 20 percent of all cases.11 The Phase 3 TENDER study demonstrated that 97% of patients achieved 30% improvement in their disease symptoms (JIA ACR30) and 64% achieved 90% improvement (JIA ACR90). ACTEMRA/RoACTEMRA’s efficacy was maintained through week 260 (4.9 years) with no change in the observed safety profile. Full results will be presented as a poster presentation at EULAR 2015 (abstract number: THU0508; presentation date: Thursday, 11 June, 2015). ACTEMRA/RoACTEMRA is the only agent approved for the treatment of both sJIA and polyarticular juvenile idiopathic arthritis (pJIA) in patients two years and older.
ACTEMRA/RoACTEMRA in systemic sclerosis (SSc)
SSc is a rare, chronic disorder characterised by blood vessel abnormalities, as well as degenerative changes and scarring in the skin, joints, and internal organs.13 The incidence of SSc is difficult to measure but is estimated to affect approximately 2.5 million people worldwide, and has the highest mortality of any rheumatic disease.3,14 FDA BTD status for ACTEMRA/RoACTEMRA was granted based on data from the Phase 2 faSScinate study. 48 week data from faSScinate will be presented as an oral presentation at EULAR 2015 (OP0054; presentation date: Thursday, 11 June, 2015).5 While the primary endpoint of improvement in skin thickening at 24 weeks, as assessed by Rodnan skin score, was not met a meaningful trend was observed. In this second part of the study, there was continued improvement in skin thickening between weeks 24 and 48.5 The overall adverse event profile between both groups was comparable.5 The extent and severity of skin thickness correlates to disease worsening, increased disability and decreased survival.15,16Based on these Phase 2 results and the unmet need in patients with SSc, for which there are no approved disease modifying therapeutic options, Roche initiated a global Phase 3 multicentre, randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled study (NCT02453256).
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