• 13 May 2024
• Admin
• News Article

Dupixent sBLA Accepted for FDA Priority Review for treating Chronic Rhinosinusitis

Dupixent® (dupilumab) sBLA Accepted for FDA Priority Review for Treatment of Adolescents with Chronic Rhinosinusitis with Nasal Polyposis (CRSwNP)

Overview

If approved, Dupixent would be the first treatment in the U.S. indicated for adolescents aged 12-17 years with inadequately controlled CRSwNP, a condition driven in part by underlying type 2 inflammation that obstructs the sinuses and nasal passages and can lead to a loss of sense of smell

FDA Review

• Current treatment options for adolescents with CRSwNP leave many patients with uncontrolled disease and often result in the recurrence of nasal polypsRegeneron Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ: REGN) and Sanofi today announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has accepted for Priority Review the supplemental Biologics License Application (sBLA) for Dupixent® (dupilumab) as an add-on maintenance treatment for adolescents aged 12 to 17 years with inadequately controlled chronic rhinosinusitis with nasal polyposis (CRSwNP).
• The target action date for the FDA decision is September 15, 2024. 
• Dupixent is currently approved as an add-on maintenance treatment for adults with CRSwNP whose disease is not adequately controlled.

Data Supporting sBLA

• The sBLA in adolescents is supported by an extrapolation of efficacy data from two positive pivotal trials (SINUS-24 and SINUS-52) in adults with CRSwNP. 
• These trials demonstrated that Dupixent significantly improved nasal congestion/obstruction severity, nasal polyp size and sense of smell, while also reducing the need for systemic corticosteroids or surgery, at 24 weeks compared to placebo. 
• The sBLA was also supported by the safety data of Dupixent in its currently approved indications for adolescents.

Safety Results

• Safety results in both SINUS-24 and SINUS-52 were generally consistent with the known safety profile of Dupixent in its approved indications. 
• Adverse events more commonly observed with Dupixent (≥3%) compared to placebo in SINUS-24 and SINUS-52 (24-week safety pool) were injection site reactions and arthralgia.

Priority Review

• Priority Review is granted to regulatory applications seeking approval for therapies that have the potential to provide significant improvements in the treatment, diagnosis or prevention of serious conditions.
• The potential use of Dupixent in adolescents with CRSwNP has not been fully evaluated by any regulatory authority. 

About CRSwNP

• CRSwNP is a chronic, recurring disease of the upper airway driven in part by type 2 inflammation that obstructs the sinuses and nasal passages. 
• It can lead to breathing difficulties, nasal congestion and discharge, reduced or loss of sense of smell and taste, facial pressure, sleep disturbance, and overall reduction in quality of life. 
• Many patients with CRSwNP have other type 2 inflammatory diseases, such as asthma that is often more severe and difficult to treat. 
• These co-morbid diseases can lead to an increased risk of asthma attacks, high symptom burden and a substantial adverse impact on health-related quality of life. 
• • In the pivotal adult Dupixent CRSwNP trials, 59% of patients also had asthma.

About Dupixent

• Dupixent, which was invented using Regeneron’s proprietary VelocImmune® technology, is a fully human monoclonal antibody that inhibits the signaling of the interleukin-4 (IL-4) and interleukin-13 (IL-13) pathways and is not an immunosuppressant.
• The Dupixent development program has shown significant clinical benefit and a decrease in type 2 inflammation in Phase 3 trials, establishing that IL-4 and IL-13 are key and central drivers of the type 2 inflammation that plays a major role in multiple related and often co-morbid diseases.

Regulatory Approvals in Different Countries 

• Dupixent has received regulatory approvals in more than 60 countries in one or more indications including certain patients with atopic dermatitis, asthma, CRSwNP, eosinophilic esophagitis (EoE), prurigo nodularis and chronic spontaneous urticaria (CSU) in different age populations. 
• More than 850,000 patients are being treated with Dupixent globally.

About Regeneron's VelocImmune® Technology

• Regeneron's VelocImmune technology utilizes a proprietary genetically engineered mouse platform endowed with a genetically humanized immune system to produce optimized fully human antibodies. 
• When Regeneron's co-Founder, President and Chief Scientific Officer George D. Yancopoulos was a graduate student with his mentor Frederick W. Alt in 1985, they were the first to envision making such a genetically humanized mouse, and Regeneron has spent decades inventing and developing VelocImmune and related VelociSuite® technologies. 
• Dr. Yancopoulos and his team have used VelocImmune technology to create a substantial portion of all original, FDA-approved or authorized fully human monoclonal antibodies. 
• This includes REGEN-COV® (casirivimab and imdevimab), Dupixent, Libtayo® (cemiplimab-rwlc), Praluent® (alirocumab), Kevzara® (sarilumab), Evkeeza® (evinacumab-dgnb) and Inmazeb® (atoltivimab, maftivimab and odesivimab-ebgn).

Dupilumab Development Program

Dupilumab is being jointly developed by Regeneron and Sanofi under a global collaboration agreement. To date, dupilumab has been studied across more than 60 clinical trials involving more than 10,000 patients with various chronic diseases driven in part by type 2 inflammation.

Further Studies on Dupilumab

• In addition to the currently approved indications, Regeneron and Sanofi are studying dupilumab in a broad range of diseases driven by type 2 inflammation or other allergic processes in Phase 3 trials, including chronic spontaneous urticaria, chronic pruritus of unknown origin, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease with evidence of type 2 inflammation and bullous pemphigoid. 
• These potential uses of dupilumab are currently under clinical investigation, and the safety and efficacy in these conditions have not been fully evaluated by any regulatory authority.

U.S. INDICATIONS 

DUPIXENT is a prescription medicine used:

1. to treat adults and children 6 months of age and older with moderate-to-severe eczema (atopic dermatitis or AD) that is not well controlled with prescription therapies used on the skin (topical), or who cannot use topical therapies. 

• DUPIXENT can be used with or without topical corticosteroids. 
• It is not known if DUPIXENT is safe and effective in children with atopic dermatitis under 6 months of age.

2. with other asthma medicines for the maintenance treatment of moderate-to-severe eosinophilic or oral steroid dependent asthma in adults and children 6 years of age and older whose asthma is not controlled with their current asthma medicines. 

• DUPIXENT helps prevent severe asthma attacks (exacerbations) and can improve your breathing. 
• DUPIXENT may also help reduce the amount of oral corticosteroids you need while preventing severe asthma attacks and improving your breathing. 
• DUPIXENT is not used to treat sudden breathing problems. 
• It is not known if DUPIXENT is safe and effective in children with asthma under 6 years of age.

3. with other medicines for the maintenance treatment of chronic rhinosinusitis with nasal polyposis (CRSwNP) in adults whose disease is not controlled. 

• It is not known if DUPIXENT is safe and effective in children with chronic rhinosinusitis with nasal polyposis under 18 years of age.

4. to treat adults and children 1 year of age and older with eosinophilic esophagitis (EoE), who weigh at least 33 pounds (15 kg). 

• • It is not known if DUPIXENT is safe and effective in children with eosinophilic esophagitis under 1 year of age, or who weigh less than 33 pounds (15 kg).

5. to treat adults with prurigo nodularis (PN). 

• It is not known if DUPIXENT is safe and effective in children with prurigo nodularis under 18 years of age.

IMPORTANT SAFETY INFORMATION 

• Do not use if you are allergic to dupilumab or to any of the ingredients in DUPIXENT®.
• Before using DUPIXENT, tell your healthcare provider about all your medical conditions, including if you:

 have eye problems
 have a parasitic (helminth) infection.
 are scheduled to receive any vaccinations. You should not receive a “live vaccine” right before and during treatment with DUPIXENT.
 are pregnant or plan to become pregnant. It is not known whether DUPIXENT will harm your unborn baby.

• A pregnancy registry for women who take DUPIXENT during pregnancy collects information about the health of you and your baby. To enroll or get more information call 1-877-311-8972 or go to https://mothertobaby.org/ongoing-study/dupixent/.
• Are breastfeeding or plan to breastfeed. It is not known whether DUPIXENT passes into your breast milk.
• Tell your healthcare provider about all the medicines you take, including prescription and over-the-counter medicines, vitamins, and herbal supplements.
• Especially tell your healthcare provider if you are taking oral, topical, or inhaled corticosteroid medicines; have asthma and use an asthma medicine; or have atopic dermatitis, chronic rhinosinusitis with nasal polyposis, eosinophilic esophagitis, or prurigo nodularis and also have asthma. 
• Do not change or stop your corticosteroid medicine or other asthma medicine without talking to your healthcare provider. This may cause other symptoms that were controlled by the corticosteroid medicine or other asthma medicine to come back.

DUPIXENT can cause serious side effects, including:

• Allergic reactions: DUPIXENT can cause allergic reactions that can sometimes be severe. 
• Stop using DUPIXENT and tell your healthcare provider or get emergency help right away if you get any of the following signs or symptoms: breathing problems or wheezing, swelling of the face, lips, mouth, tongue or throat, fainting, dizziness, feeling lightheaded, fast pulse, fever, hives, joint pain, general ill feeling, itching, skin rash, swollen lymph nodes, nausea or vomiting, or cramps in your stomach-area.
• Eye problems: Tell your healthcare provider if you have any new or worsening eye problems, including eye pain or changes in vision, such as blurred vision. Your healthcare provider may send you to an ophthalmologist for an exam if needed.
• Inflammation of your blood vessels: Rarely, this can happen in people with asthma who receive DUPIXENT. This may happen in people who also take a steroid medicine by mouth that is being stopped or the dose is being lowered. It is not known whether this is caused by DUPIXENT. Tell your healthcare provider right away if you have: rash, chest pain, worsening shortness of breath, a feeling of pins and needles or numbness of your arms or legs, or persistent fever.
• Joint aches and pain: Some people who use DUPIXENT have had trouble walking or moving due to their joint symptoms, and in some cases needed to be hospitalized. Tell your healthcare provider about any new or worsening joint symptoms. Your healthcare provider may stop DUPIXENT if you develop joint symptoms.

The most common side effects include:

• Eczema: injection site reactions, eye and eyelid inflammation, including redness, swelling, and itching, sometimes with blurred vision, dry eye, cold sores in your mouth or on your lips, and high count of a certain white blood cell (eosinophilia).
• Asthma: injection site reactions, high count of a certain white blood cell (eosinophilia), pain in the throat (oropharyngeal pain), and parasitic (helminth) infections.
• Chronic Rhinosinusitis with Nasal Polyposis: injection site reactions, eye and eyelid inflammation, including redness, swelling, and itching, sometimes with blurred vision, high count of a certain white blood cell (eosinophilia), gastritis, joint pain (arthralgia), trouble sleeping (insomnia), and toothache.
• Eosinophilic Esophagitis: injection site reactions, upper respiratory tract infections, cold sores in your mouth or on your lips, and joint pain (arthralgia).
• Prurigo Nodularis: eye and eyelid inflammation, including redness, swelling, and itching, sometimes with blurred vision, herpes virus infections, common cold symptoms (nasopharyngitis), dizziness, muscle pain, and diarrhea.

Tell your healthcare provider if you have any side effect that bothers you or that does not go away.

These are not all the possible side effects of DUPIXENT. Call your doctor for medical advice about side effects. You are encouraged to report negative side effects of prescription drugs to the FDA. Visit www.fda.gov/medwatch, or call 1-800-FDA-1088.

DUPIXENT injection: User guide

• Use DUPIXENT exactly as prescribed by your healthcare provider. 
• It’s an injection given under the skin (subcutaneous injection). 
• Your healthcare provider will decide if you or your caregiver can inject DUPIXENT. 
• Do not try to prepare and inject DUPIXENT until you or your caregiver have been trained by your healthcare provider. 
• In children 12 years of age and older, it’s recommended DUPIXENT be administered by or under supervision of an adult. 
• In children 6 months to less than 12 years of age, DUPIXENT should be given by a caregiver.

Please see accompanying full Prescribing Information including Patient Information.

About Regeneron

• Regeneron (NASDAQ: REGN) is a leading biotechnology company that invents, develops and commercializes life-transforming medicines for people with serious diseases. 
• Founded and led by physician-scientists, our unique ability to repeatedly and consistently translate science into medicine has led to numerous approved treatments and product candidates in development, most of which were homegrown in our laboratories. 
• Our medicines and pipeline are designed to help patients with eye diseases, allergic and inflammatory diseases, cancer, cardiovascular and metabolic diseases, neurological diseases, hematologic conditions, infectious diseases, and rare diseases. 

Drug Development by Advanced Technologies VelociSuite

• Regeneron pushes the boundaries of scientific discovery and accelerates drug development using our proprietary technologies, such as VelociSuite®, which produces optimized fully human antibodies and new classes of bispecific antibodies.
• We are shaping the next frontier of medicine with data-powered insights from the Regeneron Genetics Center® and pioneering genetic medicine platforms, enabling us to identify innovative targets and complementary approaches to potentially treat or cure diseases.

For more information, please visit www.Regeneron.com or follow Regeneron on LinkedIn, Instagram, Facebook or X.

About Sanofi

• We are an innovative global healthcare company, driven by one purpose: we chase the miracles of science to improve people's lives. 
• Our team, across some 100 countries, is dedicated to transforming the practice of medicine by working to turn the impossible into the possible. 
• We provide potentially life-changing treatment options and life-saving vaccine protection to millions of people globally, while putting sustainability and social responsibility at the center of our ambitions.