On July 9, 2018 CTI BioPharma Corp. and Servier reported that the pivotal Phase III study (PIX306) evaluating PIXUVRI (pixantrone) combined with rituximab in comparison to gemcitabine combined with rituximab in patients with aggressive B-cell non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL) did not meet its primary endpoint of improvement of progression-free survival (PFS) (Press release, CTI BioPharma, JUL 9, 2018, View Source [SID1234527625]).

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"We are disappointed with the outcome of the PIX306 study and will proceed to conduct a thorough review of the clinical data to assess the next steps for the PIXUVRI program," commented Adam Craig, MD, PhD, CEO of CTI BioPharma. "We would like to express our appreciation to the patients, families and investigators who participated in the study."

Results will be submitted for presentation at a major scientific meeting by the end of the year and for publication in a peer-reviewed journal.

About PIX306

The PIX306 study is a randomized, multicenter study comparing pixantrone combined with rituximab versus gemcitabine combined with rituximab in patients with aggressive B-cell non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL).

The PIX306 study enrolled 312 patients who had relapsed after therapy with CHOP-R or an equivalent regimen and were ineligible for stem cell transplant. The primary endpoint was progression-free survival (PFS) while overall survival (OS), complete response rate (CR), overall response rate (ORR) and safety were secondary endpoints.

For more information about the PIX306 study, please visit
View Source

The ClinicalTrials.gov identifier is NCT01321541.

About Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma (NHL)
NHL is a blood cancer that affects the lymphatic system, which is defined as a network of vessels and glands that run throughout the body.1 The lymphatic system is a key component of the immune system, as it plays a role in destroying old or abnormal cells and fighting bacteria and other infections.2

NHL can occur in different parts of the body from the lymph nodes in the neck to the liver or spleen, but also in other organs such as the stomach, small bowel, bones, brain, testicles or skin.3 Around 168,000 new cases of NHL are diagnosed in the United States and Europe every year.

About PIXUVRI (pixantrone)
PIXUVRI is the only treatment in the European Union indicated as monotherapy for the treatment of adult patients with multiply relapsed or refractory aggressive non-Hodgkin B-cell lymphoma (NHL).4 PIXUVRI is a cytotoxic medicine that works by interfering with the DNA within cells and preventing them from making more copies of DNA. This means that the cancer cells cannot divide and eventually die.5

PIXUVRI has not been approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in the United States (US).

PIXUVRI has conditional marketing authorization from the European Commission for prescription in the European Union (EU) as a monotherapy for the treatment of adult patients with multiply relapsed or refractory aggressive NHL.6 Conditional marketing authorizations are granted in the EU if all the following requirements are met: the benefit-risk balance of the product is positive, it is likely that the applicant will be able to provide comprehensive data, unmet medical needs will be fulfilled, the benefit to public health of the medicinal product’s immediate availability on the market outweighs the risks due to need for further data.7 The PIX306 report will be submitted to the EMA for evaluation by the end of December 2018.

PIXUVRI is mentioned in the ESMO (Free ESMO Whitepaper) guidelines as an anthracycline-like drug with reduced cardiotoxicity, which demonstrated some efficacy in heavily treated patients.8

The Summary of Product Characteristics (SmPC) has the full prescribing information, including the safety and efficacy profile of PIXUVRI in the approved indication. The SmPC is available at www.ema.europa.eu

CTI granted Servier rights to commercialize the drug globally in all markets except the US. The two companies continue to work closely to build the efficacy and safety evidence for PIXUVRI and to ensure that as many eligible patients as possible are benefitting from it.