On October 16, 2018 Catalent Pharma Solutions, the leading global provider of advanced delivery technologies and development solutions for drugs, biologics and consumer health products, reported it welcomed the approval of Verastem Oncology’s COPIKTRA (duvelisib) capsules by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) (Press release, Catalent, OCT 16, 2018, https://www.catalent.com/index.php/news-events/news/Catalent-and-Verastem-Oncology-Partner-on-Newly-Launched-FDA-Approved-COPIKTRA-duvelisib-Capsules [SID1234530088]). COPIKTRA is an oral inhibitor of phosphoinositide 3-kinase (PI3K), and the first approved dual inhibitor of PI3K-delta and PI3K-gamma, for the treatment of adult patients with relapsed or refractory chronic lymphocytic leukemia/small lymphocytic lymphoma (CLL/SLL) after at least two prior therapies.
Schedule your 30 min Free 1stOncology Demo!
Discover why more than 1,500 members use 1stOncology™ to excel in:
Early/Late Stage Pipeline Development - Target Scouting - Clinical Biomarkers - Indication Selection & Expansion - BD&L Contacts - Conference Reports - Combinatorial Drug Settings - Companion Diagnostics - Drug Repositioning - First-in-class Analysis - Competitive Analysis - Deals & Licensing
Schedule Your 30 min Free Demo!
COPIKTRA also received accelerated approval for the treatment of adult patients with relapsed or refractory follicular lymphoma (FL) after at least two prior systemic therapies. The indication in FL is approved under accelerated approval based on overall response rate. Continued approval for this indication may be contingent upon verification and description of clinical benefit in confirmatory trials.
Catalent has had a multi-year collaboration with Verastem Oncology, initially providing development and analytical support, and later clinical development and manufacturing services from its facility at Kansas City, Missouri.
"We are proud to partner with Verastem as part of the team delivering COPIKTRA capsules to patients. Catalent’s Kansas City facility is focused on oral and biologic programs, primarily with smaller pharmaceutical firms, to deliver products to patients with poorly met or unmet disease states," commented Matt Mollan, Catalent’s General Manager at Kansas City. "Like Verastem, Catalent is committed to advancing therapies with the potential to make a significant impact for patients, their caregivers and physicians. We look forward to building on this strong relationship through supplying clinical trial materials as well as commercial manufacturing and testing."
Robert Forrester, President and Chief Executive Officer of Verastem Oncology, added, "We selected Catalent as our development partner because of their experience and record of bringing similar therapies through clinical trials and on to successful commercialization. We are pleased to partner with Catalent in order to deliver this important new medicine to patients."
Catalent’s 450,000 square-feet Kansas City, Missouri facility provides a range of fully integrated support services, from formulation development and analytical testing, to clinical- and commercial-scale manufacturing and packaging of various oral dose forms.
Use of COPIKTRA is associated with a BOXED WARNING for four fatal and/or serious toxicities: infections, diarrhea or colitis, cutaneous reactions, and pneumonitis. Verastem Oncology is implementing an informational Risk Evaluation and Mitigation Strategy to provide appropriate dosing and safety information to better support physicians in managing their patients on COPIKTRA.
Additionally, use of COPIKTRA is also associated with adverse reactions which may require dose reduction, treatment delay or discontinuation of COPIKTRA. WARNINGS AND PRECAUTIONS are provided for infections, diarrhea or colitis, cutaneous reactions, pneumonitis, hepatotoxicity, neutropenia, and embryo-fetal toxicity. The most common ADVERSE REACTIONS (reported in ≥ 20% of patients) were diarrhea or colitis, neutropenia, rash, fatigue, pyrexia, cough, nausea, upper respiratory infection, pneumonia, musculoskeletal pain, and anemia.