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Dendreon Receives Positive Opinion for PROVENGE(R) in the European Union
SEATTLE--(BUSINESS WIRE)--June 28, 2013-- June 28, 2013--Dendreon Corporation (Nasdaq: DNDN) today announced that the European Medicines Agency (EMA) Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use (CHMP) has adopted a positive opinion recommending that PROVENGE(R) (autologous peripheral blood mononuclear cells activated with PAP-GM-CSF or Sipuleucel-T) be granted marketing authorization in the European Union (EU), for the treatment of asymptomatic or minimally symptomatic metastatic (non-visceral) castrate resistant prostate cancer in male adults in whom chemotherapy is not yet clinically indicated. The CHMP’s recommendation follows a positive recommendation by the Committee for Advanced Therapy (CAT).
“We are pleased with this outcome and look forward to a final regulatory decision by the European Commission later this year,” said Mark Frohlich, Executive Vice President of Research and Development and Chief Medical Officer of Dendreon. “By using the body’s own immune system to fight cancer, PROVENGE is a novel therapy that addresses a genuine unmet patient need. If approved, PROVENGE would help extend the lives of appropriate prostate cancer patients in Europe.”
The CHMP will make a final recommendation to the European Commission (EC) within the coming months on the marketing authorization application for PROVENGE in the EU. A regulatory decision is anticipated from the EC in the second half of this year.
“PROVENGE is the first immunotherapy to have demonstrated an overall survival improvement in prostate cancer. The positive CHMP opinion for PROVENGE is great news for advanced prostate cancer patients and physicians in Europe, and we look forward to the European Commission’s final decision on this novel treatment option,” said Prof. Karim Fizazi, M.D., Ph.D. Head of the Department of Cancer Medicine, The Institut Gustave Roussy, Villejuif, and Full Professor in Oncology, the University of Paris, France.
John H. Johnson, Dendreon’s chairman, president and chief executive officer, said, “This recommendation represents a significant milestone for Dendreon as we advance the global market opportunity for PROVENGE. We are finalizing our plans for a capital-efficient launch in Europe, including evaluating our partnering options. We look forward to bringing the innovative treatment of PROVENGE to patients around the world.”
Important U.S. Label Safety Information for PROVENGE
PROVENGE is intended solely for autologous use and is not routinely tested for transmissible infectious diseases.
The safety evaluation of PROVENGE was based on 601 prostate cancer patients in four randomized clinical trials who underwent at least one leukapheresis. The most common adverse events (incidence greater-than or equal to 15%) are chills, fatigue, fever, back pain, nausea, joint ache, and headache. Serious adverse events reported in the PROVENGE group include acute infusion reactions (occurring within 1 day of infusion) and cerebrovascular events. In controlled clinical trials, severe (Grade 3) acute infusion reactions were reported in 3.5% of patients in the PROVENGE group. Reactions included chills, fever, fatigue, asthenia, dyspnea, hypoxia, bronchospasm, dizziness, headache, hypertension, muscle ache, nausea, and vomiting. No Grade 4 or 5 acute infusion reactions were reported in patients in the PROVENGE group.
For more information on PROVENGE, please see the full prescribing information at http://www.provenge.com or call 1-877-336-3736.
About Dendreon
Dendreon Corporation is a biotechnology company whose mission is to target cancer and transform lives through the discovery, development, commercialization and manufacturing of novel therapeutics. The Company applies its expertise in antigen identification, engineering and cell processing to produce active cellular immunotherapy (ACI) product candidates designed to stimulate an immune response in a variety of tumor types. Dendreon’s first product, PROVENGE(R) (sipuleucel-T), was approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in April 2010 for the treatment of asymptomatic or minimally symptomatic metastatic castrate resistant (hormone refractory) prostate cancer. Dendreon is exploring the application of additional ACI product candidates and small molecules for the potential treatment of a variety of cancers. The Company is headquartered in Seattle, Washington, and is traded on the NASDAQ Global Market under the symbol DNDN. For more information about the Company and its programs, visit http://www.dendreon.com/.
Statements in this press release that are not strictly historical in nature constitute “forward-looking statements.” Such statements include, but are not limited to, statements regarding the Company’s expectations concerning the settlement of the pending securities litigation against the Company and three of its current or former officers, the expected benefits of the restructuring, the timing and elements of the restructuring, the timing and form of related charges, the expected annual operating expense reduction, expectations and beliefs regarding Dendreon’s financial position, profitability and Dendreon’s ability to break even and achieve improved performance as a result of the restructuring, expectations regarding reductions of cost of goods sold, expectations regarding regulatory approval of PROVENGE(R) in Europe, expectations regarding the presentation of clinical data, developments affecting Dendreon’s U.S. and global business and prospects and potential revenue and earnings from product sales, expectations regarding market size and market opportunity, beliefs regarding the impact of our direct to consumer advertising, expectations with respect to our sales force execution, and progress generally on commercialization efforts for PROVENGE. Such forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause Dendreon’s actual results to be materially different from historical results or from any results expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. These factors include, but are not limited to, our ability to complete documentation of the settlement among the parties to the litigation and with Dendreon’s insurers and to obtain court approval of the settlement, neither of which can be assured; our inability to achieve and sustain commercial success for PROVENGE; the identification of efficacy, safety or other issues with PROVENGE; a slower than anticipated adoption by treating physicians of PROVENGE for the treatment of patients with advanced prostate cancer due to competing therapies, instability in our sales force, including the risk that we cannot replace vacant sales positions on a prompt basis, perceived difficulties in the treatment process, delays in obtaining reimbursement or for other reasons; any promotional limitations imposed by the FDA on our ability to commercialize and market PROVENGE; unexpected difficulties and costs associated with the rapid expansion of our operations to support the commercial launch of PROVENGE; the impact of competing therapies on sales of PROVENGE, and other factors discussed in the “Risk Factors” section of Dendreon’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2012. All forward-looking statements are qualified in their entirety by this cautionary statement. Dendreon is providing this information as of the date of this press release and does not undertake any obligation to update any forward-looking statements contained in this release as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.
CONTACT: Dendreon Corporation
Corporate Communications
Lindsay Rocco, 862-596-1304
media@dendreon.com
or
Investor Relations
Nicole Soley, 206-455-2220
InvestorRelations@dendreon.com
SOURCE: Dendreon Corporation
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