On February 20, 2019 AOP Orphan Pharmaceuticals AG (AOP Orphan), a European pioneer in rare disease, reported that the European Commission (EC) has granted Marketing Authorization for BESREMi (Ropeginterferon alfa-2b) as first line monotherapy in adults for the treatment of Polycythaemia Vera (PV) without symptomatic splenomegaly (Press release, AOP Orphan Pharmaceuticals, FEB 20, 2019, View Source [SID1234533522]).
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BESREMi is now approved for use in all twenty-eight-member states of the European Union, as well as in Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway.
The EC approval was based on data generated in the clinical development program, comprising of pivotal PROUD-PV, PEN-PV, PEGINVERA and the ongoing trial CONTINUATION-PV. Clinical study data on patients receiving treatment up to seven years are available underlining the long experience with BESREMi in PV.
"BESREMi is the first approved interferon in PV and now, our next goal is to make it available to patients living with this condition in Europe as soon as possible," said Andreas Steiner, Chief Executive Officer of AOP Orphan.
About BESREMi
BESREMi is a novel, long-acting, mono-pegylated proline interferon (ATC L03AB15). Its pharmacokinetic properties offer a new level of tolerability. BESREMi is designed to be self-administered subcutaneously with a pen once every two weeks, or monthly during long-term maintenance. This treatment schedule is expected to lead to overall better safety, tolerability and adherence compared to conventional pegylated interferons.
For the EC Summary of Product Characteristics please visit:
Ropeginterferon alfa-2b was discovered by PharmaEssentia Corp. based in Taiwan (see www.pharmaessentia.com). In 2009, AOP Orphan and PharmaEssentia entered into a License and Manufacturing agreement for Ropeginterferon alfa-2b which is manufactured by PharmaEssentia in its new Taichung Plant opened in Oct 2012 which has also received a GMP-certificate by a European regulatory body in Jan 2018. The finished product was developed as a pre-filled pen by Vetter (Germany) and Ypsomed (Switzerland) under the overall project lead of AOP Orphan in order to make administration easier compared to a vial or syringe. AOP Orphan has the exclusive rights for clinical development and commercialization of Ropeginterferon alfa-2b in PV, other myeloproliferative neoplasia (MPN) and chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) for European, Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), and Middle Eastern markets. AOP Orphan informs separately when BESREMi will be available on the respective markets.
About Polycythemia Vera
Polycythemia Vera (PV) is a rare cancer of the blood-building stem cells in the bone marrow resulting in a chronic increase of red blood cells, white blood cells and platelets. This condition increases the risk for circulatory disorders such as thrombosis and embolism, its symptoms lead to a reduced quality of life and on the long run may progress to myelofibrosis or transform to leukemia. While the molecular mechanism underlying PV is still subject of intense research, current results point to blood-building stem cells in the bone marrow with a set of acquired mutations, the most important being a mutant form of JAK2 that make up the malignant clone. Important PV treatment goals are to achieve healthy blood counts (hematocrit below 45%), improve quality of life and to slow or delay the progression of disease.