On December 5, 2017 At the American Society of Hematology (ASH) (Free ASH Whitepaper)’s 59th Annual Meeting and Exposition in Atlanta, Georgia, researcher Gustavo Milone, MD, and his team reported that will present a study that investigates the post-marketing trends of Novex, a biosimilar rituximab that has been approved in Argentina for the same indications as the reference product (MabThera, Rituxan) (Press release, mAbxience, DEC 5, 2017, View Source [SID1234594760]).1 Since Novex’s commercial launch, the first national pharmacovigilance plan for a biosimilar monoclonal antibody has been implemented, and data from this post-marketing surveillance show that, in terms of tolerability, this biosimilar has a similar safety profile to that of the reference product.

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In order to determine deviations from expected frequencies of adverse events (AEs), a prospective treatment registry for the biosimilar was implemented from the start of its commercialization on November 26, 2014. Data in the study are reported until June 30, 2017. Physicians, 180 in total, tracked age, gender, indication, dose, dose frequency, and date of treatment initiation and finalization for each patient receiving the biosimilar.

The study comprised the records of 525 patients who had at least 1 follow-up. The majority of patients were female (52%), the mean age was 63.3 years (range, 10-90), and most patients received the biosimilar rituximab for hematological disease (91.2% of cases). The treatment duration ranged from 154 to 309 days, with the number of treatment cycles varying from 1 to 12. Individual Case Safety Reports (ICSRs) were collected from 24 patients with 29 AEs.

The most frequently reported AEs were:

Acute infusion-related reaction (14)
Arrhythmia (3)
Pneumonia (2)
Stroke (2)
The researchers noted that 41 treatments with rituximab were initiated before the launch of the product; assuming treatment began with MabThera, these 41 treatments imply switching to the biosimilar from the reference.

Researchers investigating data from the post-marketing surveillance found a similar incidence of AEs after the use of rituximab biosimilar when compared to the published data of the reference product. Thus, in terms of tolerability, the biosimilar has a similar safety profile compared with its reference.

On December 5, 2017 Medidata (NASDAQ:MDSO), the leading global provider of cloud-based technology and data analytics for clinical research, reported that CytomX Therapeutics, Inc., a biopharmaceutical company developing investigational Probody therapeutics for the treatment of cancer, will expand its partnership to include Medidata Regulated Content Management (RCM) solutions, eTMF Archive and SOP Management (Press release, CytomX Therapeutics, DEC 5, 2017, View Source [SID1234522418]).

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"We’ve created a seamless offering with the Medidata platform that can facilitate everything during clinical research, from data collection and management to compliance"
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With the addition of Medidata RCM, CytomX will now manage regulated and nonregulated content in a single, unified platform. Accessible through the Medidata Clinical Cloud, CytomX will integrate standard operating procedure (SOP) management and electronic trial master file (eTMF) archive to manage all content, data and workflows.

CytomX is also currently using Medidata Rave, the world’s leading solution for capturing, managing and reporting patient data and Medidata Balance, randomization and trial supply management (RTSM) application, for its oncology research studies.

"We’ve created a seamless offering with the Medidata platform that can facilitate everything during clinical research, from data collection and management to compliance," said Mike Capone, chief operating officer at Medidata. "Medidata’s industry difference is that we enable our customers to take control of their data, helping them meet regulatory requirements and ensure efficient clinical trials."

On December 5, 2017 AbbVie (NYSE: ABBV), a global biopharmaceutical company, reported the Phase 3 iNNOVATE (PCYC-1127) trial evaluating IMBRUVICA (ibrutinib) in combination with rituximab in patients with treatment-naïve and previously-treated Waldenström’s macroglobulinemia (WM) successfully met its primary endpoint and demonstrated improvement of progression-free survival (PFS) compared to rituximab alone (Press release, AbbVie, DEC 5, 2017, View Source [SID1234522376]). The Independent Data Monitoring Committee (IDMC) recommended that the study be unblinded based on the positive outcome from the pre-specified interim analysis data. IMBRUVICA, a first-in-class Bruton’s tyrosine kinase (BTK) inhibitor, is jointly developed and commercialized by Pharmacyclics LLC, an AbbVie company, and Janssen Biotech, Inc.

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"IMBRUVICA is the first and only treatment approved in Waldenström’s macroglobulinemia. We continue to be committed to exploring the full potential of IMBRUVICA, and are pleased to add the results of iNNOVATE to our growing scientific understanding of its use as a combination therapy in WM and other blood cancers," said Thorsten Graef, M.D., Ph.D., Head of Clinical Development at Pharmacyclics LLC, an AbbVie company.

Pharmacyclics and Janssen are planning to share the interim analysis data from the study with regulatory authorities and plan to present the data in a future publication or medical congress. In January 2015, the U.S. FDA granted approval for IMBRUVICA for adult patients with WM. The approval was supported by the FDA’s Breakthrough Therapy Designation.

"This is a first-of-its-kind prospective randomized trial in Waldenström’s macroglobulinemia," said Meletios A. Dimopoulos, M.D., Professor and Chairman of the Department of Clinical Therapeutics at the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens School of Medicine. "The full report of this study will be of important clinical significance regarding the benefits of the combination of ibrutinib with rituximab in patients with WM."

WM is a rare form of non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, and roughly 1,000 to 1,500 people are diagnosed each year in the U.S.1

On December 5, 2017 Delcath Systems, Inc. (OTCQB:DCTH), an interventional oncology company focused on the treatment of primary and metastatic liver cancers, announces that results of a multi-center retrospective analysis of Delcath’s PHP Therapy have been accepted for publication in the peer-reviewed Journal of Surgical Oncology (Press release, Delcath Systems, DEC 5, 2017, View Source;p=RssLanding&cat=news&id=2321097 [SID1234522379]). The study, Percutaneous Hepatic Perfusion with Melphalan in Uveal Melanoma: A Safe and Effective Treatment Modality in an Orphan Disease, was conducted by researchers from Moffitt Cancer Center in Tampa, FL and the University Hospital Southampton in the United Kingdom. The publication of the data is expected in an upcoming edition of the Journal. An abstract of this study was presented at the 12th Annual Regional Therapies International Symposium in Snowbird, Utah in February 2017.

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Commenting on the announcement, Jennifer K. Simpson, Ph.D., President and CEO of Delcath Systems, said, "this study represents the largest data set outside of a controlled clinical trial on the use of PHP Therapy in the treatment of uveal melanoma metastatic to the liver. Preliminary results of the study presented at the Regional Therapies conference earlier this year showed data indicating tumor response and overall survival benefit with PHP Therapy beyond the 6-8 months seen with other therapies in this patient population. The most common serious side effects following treatment were anemia, thrombocytopenia and neutropenia; these were expected and the majority managed with supportive care. The preliminary data provide confidence that our Phase 3 clinical trial in ocular melanoma liver metastases can provide the evidence necessary to support an application for a labeled indication in this tumor type, and we look forward to the publication of the full study results."

PHP Therapy with Melphalan/HDS was developed by Delcath Systems as a targeted, whole organ therapy for the liver. It is commercially available as a device in Europe, where it is marketed as CHEMOSAT. The system has not been approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, and is undergoing Phase 3 clinical testing in the U.S. as an investigational product.

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