On November 27, 2023 Genmab A/S (Nasdaq: GMAB) reported regulatory updates from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and European Medicines Agency (EMA) for epcoritamab, an investigational T-cell engaging bispecific antibody administered subcutaneously (Press release, Genmab, NOV 27, 2023, View Source [SID1234637973]). The U.S. FDA has granted Breakthrough Therapy Designation (BTD) to epcoritamab-bysp for the treatment of adult patients with relapsed or refractory (R/R) follicular lymphoma (FL) after two or more lines of systemic therapy. BTD may expedite the development and review of investigational medicines by the U.S. FDA for serious or life-threatening diseases in cases where preliminary clinical evidence shows that a therapy may provide substantial improvements over available therapies.

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Additionally, the EMA has validated a Type II variation application for epcoritamab for the same indication. EMA validation confirms that the application is complete and commences the scientific review process by the EMA’s Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use (CHMP). If approved, R/R FL would become the second conditionally approved indication for epcoritamab in the European Union.

"Despite recent treatment advances in relapsed or refractory follicular lymphoma, a need still exists for more treatment options," said Jan van de Winkel, Ph.D., Chief Executive Officer of Genmab. "We are encouraged by these recent decisions from the regulatory authorities, and we are hopeful that this may help accelerate the process of delivering epcoritamab to people living with this disease. We’re committed to working with AbbVie to explore the full potential of epcoritamab as a potential core therapy for patients with B-cell malignancies."

These regulatory actions were supported by previously announced results from the phase 1/2 EPCORE NHL-1 clinical trial, an open-label, multi-center safety and preliminary efficacy study evaluating subcutaneous epcoritamab in 128 adult patients with relapsed, progressive or refractory CD20+ mature B-cell non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma (NHL), including FL. Updated results from the R/R FL cohort of the EPCORE NHL-1 trial, including an optimized dosing schedule allowing for outpatient administration, will be presented at the upcoming 65th Annual Meeting and Exposition of the American Society of Hematology (ASH) (Free ASH Whitepaper) taking place December 9-12 in San Diego, California.

About Follicular Lymphoma (FL)
FL is typically an indolent, or slow-growing, form of non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma (NHL) that arises from B-cell lymphocytes.i FL is the second most common form of NHL overall, accounting for 20 to 30 percent of all NHL cases, and representing 10 to 20 percent of all lymphomas in the Western world.ii,iii Although FL is an indolent lymphoma, it is considered incurable with conventional therapy.iv,v

About the Phase 1/2 EPCORE NHL-1 Trial
EPCORE NHL-1 an open-label, multi-center safety and preliminary efficacy trial of epcoritamab that consists of three parts: a phase 1 first-in-human, dose escalation part; a phase 2a expansion part; and a phase 2a dose optimization part. The trial was designed to evaluate subcutaneous epcoritamab in patients with relapsed, progressive or refractory CD20+ mature B-cell non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma (B-NHL), including FL. In the phase 2a expansion part, additional patients were enrolled to further explore the safety and efficacy of epcoritamab in three cohorts of patients with different types of relapsed/refractory B-NHLs who have limited therapeutic options. The dose optimization part evaluates the potential for alternative step-up dosing regimens to help further minimize Grade 2 cytokine release syndrome (CRS) and mitigate Grade ≥3 CRS. The application for BTD included additional data from this cohort of patients. The primary endpoint of the expansion part was ORR as assessed by an IRC. Secondary efficacy endpoints included DOR, complete response rate, duration of complete response, progression-free survival, and time to response as determined by the Lugano criteria. Overall survival, time to next therapy, and rate of minimal residual disease negativity were also evaluated as secondary efficacy endpoints.

About Epcoritamab
Epcoritamab is an IgG1-bispecific antibody created using Genmab’s proprietary DuoBody technology and administered subcutaneously. Genmab’s DuoBody-CD3 technology is designed to direct cytotoxic T cells selectively to elicit an immune response toward target cell types. Epcoritamab is designed to simultaneously bind to CD3 on T cells and CD20 on B cells and induces T-cell-mediated killing of CD20+ cells.vi

Epcoritamab (approved under the brand name EPKINLY in the U.S. and Japan, and TEPKINLY in the EU) has received regulatory approval in certain lymphoma indications in several territories. Use of epcoritamab in FL is not approved in the U.S. or in the EU. Epcoritamab is being co-developed by Genmab and AbbVie as part of the companies’ oncology collaboration. The companies will share commercial responsibilities in the U.S. and Japan, with AbbVie responsible for further global commercialization.

Genmab and AbbVie continue to evaluate the use of epcoritamab as a monotherapy, and in combination, across lines of therapy in a range of hematologic malignancies. This includes three ongoing phase 3, open-label, randomized trials including a trial evaluating epcoritamab as a monotherapy in patients with R/R DLBCL (NCT: 04628494) compared to investigator’s choice chemotherapy, a phase 3 trial evaluating epcoritamab in combination with R-CHOP in adult participants with newly diagnosed DLBCL (NCT: 05578976), and a phase 3, open-label clinical trial evaluating epcoritamab in combination with rituximab and lenalidomide in patients with R/R FL (NCT: 05409066). Epcoritamab is not approved to treat newly diagnosed patients with DLBCL or FL. The safety and efficacy of epcoritamab has not been established for these investigational uses. Please visit clinicaltrials.gov for more information.