EU regulators to assess potential lupus breakthrough drug
pharmafile | June 8, 2010 | News story | Sales and Marketing | Benlysta, Human Genome Sciences, Lupus
GlaxoSmithKline and Human Genome Sciences have submitted a marketing application to the European Medicines Agency for their new lupus drug.
If approved by the regulator the monoclonal antibody treatment Benlysta will be first new drug for the disease in 50 years, but the application comes of the back of mixed trial results for the drug.
GSK and its partner HGS are seeking an indication for Benlysta to treat systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), a chronic inflammatory disease of the connective tissue that affects the entire body.
In addition the European submission, HGS has said it anticipates submitting a biologics license application (BLA) for Benlysta to the FDA for US approval by the end of this month.
Lupus remains as a largely unmet medical need with current treatments such as corticosteroid injections and non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) aimed primarily at reducing inflammation or other related symptoms.
Benlysta is one of a new class of drugs called B-lymphocyte stimulator (BLyS)-specific inhibitors. BLyS is a naturally occurring protein discovered by HGS that is required for the survival and development of B-lymphocyte cells into mature plasma B cells. Plasma B cells produce antibodies, the body’s first line of defense against infection.
In lupus, elevated levels of BLyS are believed to contribute to the production of auto-antibodies – antibodies that attack and destroy the body’s own healthy tissues. The results of prospective observational studies show a correlation of elevated levels of BLyS with SLE disease activity.
Mixed trial results
The European marketing application for Benlysta comes of the back of mixed trial results for the drug.
These initially generated excitement in July 2009 when the first phase III results surprised analysts, showing significant improvement in symptoms in SLE patients compared to placebo.
But by the end of the two BLISS-76 studies, although Benlysta plus standard of care showed higher response rates compared with placebo plus standard, this difference did not reach statistical significance and therefore failed its secondary endpoint.
The treatment did however meet its primary endpoint in seropositive patients with SLE: with a 10 mg/kg dose plus standard of care achieving a “statistically significant improvement” over 52-weeks in patient response compared with placebo plus standard.
Ben Adams
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