FDA Authorizes an Extension of the In-Use Period for UroGen Pharma’s JELMYTO® Admixture to 96 Hours Following Reconstitution

September 28, 2022 |

9 min read

FDA Authorizes an Extension of the In-Use Period for UroGen Pharma’s JELMYTO ® Admixture to 96 Hours Following Reconstitution.

Sept. 28, 2022 12:00 UTC

-- This Extension Increases Flexibility and Efficiency for Customers and Patients --

PRINCETON, N.J.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- UroGen Pharma Ltd. (Nasdaq: URGN), a biotech company dedicated to developing and commercializing innovative solutions that treat urothelial and specialty cancers, today announced the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has authorized an extension of the in-use period for JELMYTO^® (mitomycin) for pyelocalyceal solution admixture from 8 hours to 96 hours (four days) following reconstitution of the product. This extension is significant and has implications for all stakeholders including physicians, hospitals, pharmacists and the adult patients who use UroGen’s medicine to treat low-grade, upper-tract urothelial cancer (LG UTUC).

“We strive to improve the care of patients who depend on our cancer therapy and that includes streamlining logistics that can have a significant impact on the delivery, storage and timing of treatment,” said Jeff Bova, Chief Commercial Officer, UroGen. “This extension expands access to JELMYTO and gives our customers greater flexibility in choosing when to mix and schedule instillations. It also prepares us for managing future growth based on increased patient volume.”

UroGen encourages healthcare providers to consult the new Prescribing Information and speak to their UroGen representative about this extended in-use period to optimize flexibility when treating patients with JELMYTO.

“This label change for JELMYTO gives physicians and patients the option to treat in the morning, whereas, in most cases, the afternoon was the only option before the change,” explains Rian Dickstein, M.D., Chairman of Urology, University of Maryland Baltimore Washington Medical Center (UM BWMC). “Previously, centers with mixing partners had to have JELMYTO mixed and sent by courier in the morning, now this extension provides added convenience of opening up additional scheduling options, which is very important as it enables us to more efficiently manage patient care.”

About LG UTUC

LG UTUC is a rare disease managed by endoscopic methods and radical nephroureterectomy. Endoscopic resection and laser ablation attempt to preserve the kidney, though there is a high risk of recurrence that may eventually necessitate removal of the kidney. Although kidney removal is the gold standard for treatment of high-grade UTUC, it may be over-treatment in LG UTUC, as kidney removal offers similar five-year survival as kidney-sparing procedures but is associated with significant morbidity. JELMYTO is efficacious as a primary chemoablative therapy in patients with LG UTUC.

About JELMYTO^®

JELMYTO^®(mitomycin) for pyelocalyceal solution is a mitomycin-containing reverse thermal gel containing 4 mg mitomycin per mL gel indicated for primary chemoablative treatment of LG UTUC in adults. It is recommended for primary treatment of biopsy-proven LG UTUC in patients deemed appropriate candidates for renal-sparing therapy. JELMYTO is a viscous liquid when cooled and becomes a semi-solid gel at body temperature. The drug slowly dissolves over four to six hours after instillation and is removed from the urinary tract by normal urine flow and voiding. It is approved for administration in a retrograde manner via ureteral catheter or antegrade through nephrostomy tube. The delivery system allows the initial liquid to coat and conform to the upper urinary tract anatomy. The eventual semisolid gel allows for chemoablative therapy to remain in the collecting system for four to six hours without immediately being diluted or washed away by urine flow.

APPROVED USE FOR JELMYTO

JELMYTO^® is a prescription medicine used to treat adults with a type of cancer of the lining of the upper urinary tract including the kidney called low-grade Upper Tract Urothelial Cancer (LG-UTUC).

IMPORTANT SAFETY INFORMATION

You should not receive JELMYTO if you have a hole or tear (perforation) of your bladder or upper urinary tract.

Before receiving JELMYTO, tell your healthcare provider about all your medical conditions, including if you:

are pregnant or plan to become pregnant. JELMYTO can harm your unborn baby. You should not become pregnant during treatment with JELMYTO. Tell your healthcare provider right away if you become pregnant or think you may be pregnant during treatment with JELMYTO.

Females who are able to become pregnant: You should use effective birth control (contraception) during treatment with JELMYTO and for 6 months after the last dose.

Males being treated with JELMYTO: If you have a female partner who is able to become pregnant, you should use effective birth control (contraception) during treatment with JELMYTO and for 3 months after the last dose.

are breastfeeding or plan to breastfeed. It is not known if JELMYTO passes into your breast milk. Do not breastfeed during treatment with JELMYTO and for 1 week after the last dose.
Tell your healthcare provider if you take water pills (diuretic).

How will I receive JELMYTO?

Your healthcare provider will tell you to take a medicine called sodium bicarbonate before each JELMYTO treatment.
You will receive your JELMYTO dose from your healthcare provider 1 time a week for 6 weeks. It is important that you receive all 6 doses of JELMYTO according to your healthcare provider’s instructions. If you miss any appointments, call your healthcare provider as soon as possible to reschedule your appointment. Your healthcare provider may recommend up to an additional 11 monthly doses.
JELMYTO is given to your kidney through a tube called a catheter.
During treatment with JELMYTO, your healthcare provider may tell you to take additional medicines or change how you take your current medicines.

After receiving JELMYTO:

JELMYTO may cause your urine color to change to a violet to blue color. Avoid contact between your skin and urine for at least 6 hours.
To urinate, males and females should sit on a toilet and flush the toilet several times after you use it. After going to the bathroom, wash your hands, your inner thighs, and genital area well with soap and water.
Clothing that comes in contact with urine should be washed right away and washed separately from other clothing.

JELMYTO may cause serious side effects, including:

Swelling and narrowing of the tube that carries urine from the kidney to the bladder (ureteric obstruction). If you develop swelling and narrowing, and to protect your kidney from damage, your healthcare provider may recommend the placement of a small plastic tube (stent) in the ureter to help the kidney drain. Tell your healthcare provider right away if you develop side pain or fever during treatment with JELMYTO.
Bone marrow problems. JELMYTO can affect your bone marrow and can cause a decrease in your white blood cell, red blood cell, and platelet counts. Your healthcare provider will do blood tests prior to each treatment to check your blood cell counts during treatment with JELMYTO. Your healthcare provider may need to temporarily or permanently stop JELMYTO if you develop bone marrow problems during treatment with JELMYTO.

The most common side effects of JELMYTO include: urinary tract infection, blood in your urine, side pain, nausea, trouble with urination, kidney problems, vomiting, tiredness, stomach (abdomen) pain.

You are encouraged to report negative side effects of prescription drugs to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Visit www.fda.gov/medwatch or call 1‑800‑FDA‑1088. You may also report side effects to UroGen Pharma at 1-855-987-6436.

Please see JELMYTO Full Prescribing Information, including the Patient Information, for additional information

About UroGen Pharma Ltd.

UroGen is biotech company dedicated to developing and commercializing innovative solutions that treat urothelial and specialty cancers because patients deserve better options. UroGen has developed RTGel™ reverse-thermal hydrogel, a proprietary sustained release, hydrogel-based platform technology that has the potential to improve therapeutic profiles of existing drugs. UroGen’s sustained release technology is designed to enable longer exposure of the urinary tract tissue to medications, making local therapy a potentially more effective treatment option. UroGen’s first commercial product JELMYTO (mitomycin) for pyelocalyceal solution, and investigational treatment UGN-102 (mitomycin) for intravesical solution for patients with low-grade non-muscle invasive bladder cancer, are designed to ablate tumors by non-surgical means. UroGen is headquartered in Princeton, NJ with operations in Israel. Visit www.urogen.com to learn more or follow us on Twitter, @UroGenPharma.

Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains forward-looking statements as that term is defined in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, including, without limitation, statements regarding the implications of the extension of the in-use period for JELMYTO for all stakeholders, including preparing UroGen for managing future growth based on increased patient volume and increasing patient volume; the impact of streamlined logistics on the delivery, storage and timing of treatment; RTGel’s potential to improve the therapeutic profiles of existing drugs; and UroGen’s sustained release technology making local delivery potentially more effective as compared to other treatment options. These statements are subject to a number of risks, uncertainties and assumptions, including, but not limited to: any negative effects on UroGen’s business, commercialization and product development plans caused by or associated with COVID-19; UroGen’s ability to efficiently and effectively manage growth; potential safety and other complications from JELMYTO; the timing and success of clinical trials and potential safety and other complications thereof; the ability to obtain and maintain regulatory approval; the labelling for any approved product; the scope, progress and expansion of developing and commercializing UroGen’s product candidates; the size and growth of the market(s) therefor and the rate and degree of market acceptance thereof vis-à-vis alternative therapies. In light of these risks and uncertainties, and other risks and uncertainties that are described in the Risk Factors section of UroGen’s Form 10-Q filed with the SEC on May 10, 2022 and other filings that UroGen makes with the SEC from time to time (which are available at http://www.sec.gov), the events and circumstances discussed in such forward-looking statements may not occur, and UroGen’s actual results could differ materially and adversely from those anticipated or implied thereby. Any forward-looking statements speak only as of the date of this press release and are based on information available to UroGen as of the date of this release.