StemCell Therapy

TOKYO and BOTHELL, Wash., Feb. 12, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Astellas Pharma Inc. (TSE: 4503, President and CEO: Kenji Yasukawa, Ph.D., "Astellas") and Seagen Inc. (Nasdaq: SGEN) today announced primary results from the phase 3 EV-301 trial comparing PADCEV (enfortumab vedotin-ejfv) to chemotherapy in adult patients with locally advanced or metastatic urothelial cancer who were previously treated with platinum-based chemotherapy and a PD-1/L1 inhibitor. At the time of pre-specified interim analysis, patients who received PADCEV in the trial lived a median of 3.9 months longer than those who received chemotherapy. Median overall survival was 12.9 vs. 9.0 months, respectively (HR=0.70 [95 percent Confidence Interval (CI): 0.56-0.89], p=0.001). For patients in the PADCEV arm of the trial, maculopapular rash, fatigue and decreased neutrophil count were the most frequent Grade 3 or greater treatment-related adverse events (TRAEs) occurring in more than 5 percent of patients.

Urothelial cancer is the most common type of bladder cancer and can also be found in the renal pelvis, ureter and urethra.1

Thefindings were published in the New England Journal of Medicine and presented during the virtual scientific program of the 2021 American Society of Clinical Oncology Genitourinary Cancers Symposium (ASCO GU) (Abstract 393).

"Improving survival is especially meaningful in patients who have had their cancer progress following chemotherapy or other treatment," said Daniel P. Petrylak, M.D., Professor of Medicine and of Urology, Yale Cancer Center, and corresponding author of the published study.

"Enfortumab vedotin is the first medicine to reduce the risk of death compared to chemotherapy in patients with locally advanced or metastatic urothelial cancer who have received a platinum-containing chemotherapy and an immunotherapy," said Professor Thomas Powles, M.D., Director, Barts Cancer Centre, Queen Mary University of London, who presented results at ASCO GU.

Patients who received PADCEV in the trial also showed improvement in the following secondary endpoints:

Other safety findings included:

"Patients who received PADCEV lived longer than those who received chemotherapy an important finding, especially in light of the high unmet need faced by people with advanced urothelial cancer," said Andrew Krivoshik, M.D., Ph.D., Senior Vice President and Oncology Therapeutic Area Head, Astellas.

"Since its accelerated approval by the FDA in late 2019, physicians have adopted PADCEV into their practice, and these confirmatory results provide additional evidence of its benefit for people living with advanced bladder cancer," said Roger Dansey, M.D., Chief Medical Officer, Seagen.

Results of EV-301 are expected to be submitted to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration by the end of March as the confirmatory trial following the drug's accelerated approval in 2019. The results of EV-301 will also be included in submissions to global health authorities.

About Urothelial Cancer Urothelial cancer is the most common type of bladder cancer (90 percent of cases) and can also be found in the renal pelvis (where urine collects inside the kidney), ureter (tube that connects the kidneys to the bladder) and urethra.1 Globally, approximately 549,000 new cases of bladder cancer and 200,000 deaths are reported annually.2

About the EV-301 Trial The EV-301 trial (NCT03474107) is a global, multicenter, open-label, randomized phase 3 trial designed to evaluate enfortumab vedotin versus physician's choice of chemotherapy (docetaxel, paclitaxel or vinflunine) in approximately 600 patients with locally advanced or metastatic urothelial cancer who were previously treated with a PD-1/L1 inhibitor and platinum-based therapies. The primary endpoint is overall survival and secondary endpoints include progression-free survival, overall response rate, duration of response and disease control rate, as well as assessment of safety/tolerability and quality-of-life parameters.

About PADCEV (enfortumab vedotin-ejfv) PADCEV was approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in December 2019 and is indicated for the treatment of adult patients with locally advanced or metastatic urothelial cancer who have previously received a programmed death receptor-1 (PD-1) or programmed death-ligand 1 (PD-L1) inhibitor and a platinum-containing chemotherapy before (neoadjuvant) or after (adjuvant) surgery or in a locally advanced or metastatic setting. PADCEV was approved under the FDA's Accelerated Approval Program based on tumor response rate. Continued approval for this indication may be contingent upon verification and description of clinical benefit in confirmatory trials.3

PADCEV is a first-in-class antibody-drug conjugate (ADC) that is directed against Nectin-4, a protein located on the surface of cells and highly expressed in bladder cancer.3,4 Nonclinical data suggest the anticancer activity of PADCEV is due to its binding to Nectin-4 expressing cells followed by the internalization and release of the anti-tumor agent monomethyl auristatin E (MMAE) into the cell, which result in the cell not reproducing (cell cycle arrest) and in programmed cell death (apoptosis).4 PADCEV is co-developed by Astellas and Seagen.

PADCEV Important Safety Information

Warnings and Precautions

Adverse Reactions Serious adverse reactions occurred in 46% of patients treated with PADCEV. The most common serious adverse reactions (3%) were urinary tract infection (6%), cellulitis (5%), febrile neutropenia (4%), diarrhea (4%), sepsis (3%), acute kidney injury (3%), dyspnea (3%), and rash (3%). Fatal adverse reactions occurred in 3.2% of patients, including acute respiratory failure, aspiration pneumonia, cardiac disorder, and sepsis (each 0.8%).

Adverse reactions leading to discontinuation occurred in 16% of patients; the most common adverse reaction leading to discontinuation was peripheral neuropathy (6%). Adverse reactions leading to dose interruption occurred in 64% of patients; the most common adverse reactions leading to dose interruption were peripheral neuropathy (18%), rash (9%) and fatigue (6%). Adverse reactions leading to dose reduction occurred in 34% of patients; the most common adverse reactions leading to dose reduction were peripheral neuropathy (12%), rash (6%) and fatigue (4%).

The most common adverse reactions (20%) were fatigue (56%), peripheral neuropathy (56%), decreased appetite (52%), rash (52%), alopecia (50%), nausea (45%), dysgeusia (42%), diarrhea (42%), dry eye (40%), pruritus (26%) and dry skin (26%). The most common Grade 3 adverse reactions (5%) were rash (13%), diarrhea (6%) and fatigue (6%).

Lab Abnormalities In one clinical trial, Grade 3-4 laboratory abnormalities reported in 5% were: lymphocytes decreased (10%), hemoglobin decreased (10%), phosphate decreased (10%), lipase increased (9%), sodium decreased (8%), glucose increased (8%), urate increased (7%), neutrophils decreased (5%).

Drug Interactions

Specific Populations

For more information, please see the full Prescribing Information for PADCEV here.

About Astellas Astellas Pharma Inc. is a pharmaceutical company conducting business in more than 70 countries around the world. We are promoting the Focus Area Approach that is designed to identify opportunities for the continuous creation of new drugs to address diseases with high unmet medical needs by focusing on Biology and Modality. Furthermore, we are also looking beyond our foundational Rx focus to create Rx+ healthcare solutions that combine our expertise and knowledge with cutting-edge technology in different fields of external partners. Through these efforts, Astellas stands on the forefront of healthcare change to turn innovative science into value for patients. For more information, please visit our website at https://www.astellas.com/en.

About Seagen Seagen Inc. is a global biotechnology company that discovers, develops and commercializes transformative cancer medicines to make a meaningful difference in people's lives. Seagen is headquartered in the Seattle, Washington area, and has locations in California, Canada, Switzerland and the European Union. For more information on our marketed products and robust pipeline, visit http://www.seagen.com and follow @SeagenGlobal on Twitter.

About the Astellas and Seagen Collaboration Astellas and Seagen are co-developing enfortumab vedotin under a collaboration that was entered into in 2007 and expanded in 2009.

Astellas Cautionary Notes In this press release, statements made with respect to current plans, estimates, strategies and beliefs and other statements that are not historical facts are forward-looking statements about the future performance of Astellas. These statements are based on management's current assumptions and beliefs in light of the information currently available to it and involve known and unknown risks and uncertainties. A number of factors could cause actual results to differ materially from those discussed in the forward-looking statements. Such factors include, but are not limited to: (i) changes in general economic conditions and in laws and regulations, relating to pharmaceutical markets, (ii) currency exchange rate fluctuations, (iii) delays in new product launches, (iv) the inability of Astellas to market existing and new products effectively, (v) the inability of Astellas to continue to effectively research and develop products accepted by customers in highly competitive markets, and (vi) infringements of Astellas' intellectual property rights by third parties.

Information about pharmaceutical products (including products currently in development), which is included in this press release is not intended to constitute an advertisement or medical advice.

Seagen Forward Looking Statements Certain statements made in this press release are forward looking, such as those, among others, relating to the submission of data from the EV-301 trial for presentation at an upcoming scientific congress; intended regulatory actions, including plans to submit the results of the EV-301 trial to the FDA as the confirmatory trial following the drug's accelerated approval in the U.S. and plans to seek global registrations; and the therapeutic potential of PADCEV, including its efficacy, safety and therapeutic uses. Actual results or developments may differ materially from those projected or implied in these forward-looking statements. Factors that may cause such a difference include the possibilities that we may experience delays in the submission of results to the FDA; that the results from the EV-301 trial may not be sufficient to convert PADCEV's accelerated approval in the U.S. to regular approval or to support any other global registrations; that, even if PADCEV receives regular approval in the U.S. or any other global registrations, the product labeling may not be as broad or desirable as anticipated; that ongoing and subsequent clinical trials may fail to establish sufficient efficacy; that adverse events or safety signals may occur; and that adverse regulatory actions may occur. More information about the risks and uncertainties faced by Seagen is contained under the caption "Risk Factors" included in the company's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2020filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Seagen disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by law.

References

1American Society of Clinical Oncology. Bladder cancer: introduction (5-2019). https://www.cancer.net/cancer-types/bladder-cancer/introduction. Accessed January 27, 2021. 2Cancer today: data visualization tools for exploring the global cancer burden in 2020. https://gco.iarc.fr/today/home. Accessed January 27, 2021. 3PADCEV [package insert] Northbrook, IL: Astellas Pharma Inc. 4Challita-Eid P, Satpayev D, Yang P, et al. Enfortumab vedotin antibody-drug conjugate targeting nectin-4 is a highly potent therapeutic agent in multiple preclinical cancer models. Cancer Res 2016;76(10):3003-13.

SOURCE Astellas Pharma Inc.

http://www.us.astellas.com

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Astellas and Seagen Announce Phase 3 Trial Results Demonstrating Survival Advantage of PADCEV (enfortumab vedotin-ejfv) in Patients with Previously...

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