Teva and OncoGenex Announce Top-Line Survival Results of Phase III SYNERGY Trial Evaluating Custirsen in Combination with First-line Docetaxel and Prednisone for Metastatic Castrate-Resistant Prostate Cancer
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| Photo Credit: OncoGenex |
JERUSALEM & VANCOUVER, British Columbia & BOTHELL, Wash.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. (NYSE:TEVA) and OncoGenex Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:OGXI) today announced results from the Phase III SYNERGY trial, a randomized, open-label, two-arm study comparing the combination of custirsen and standard first-line docetaxel/prednisone therapy to docetaxel/prednisone alone in men with metastatic castrate-resistant prostate cancer (CRPC).
Top-line survival results indicate the addition of custirsen to standard first-line docetaxel/prednisone therapy did not meet the primary endpoint of a statistically significant improvement in overall survival (OS) in men with metastatic CRPC, compared to docetaxel/prednisone alone (median survival 23.4 months vs 22.2 months, respectively; hazard ratio 0.93 and one-sided p-value 0.207).
“We are disappointed with these results. Addressing treatment resistance is critical in the fight against cancer. We are working with OncoGenex to more fully understand these data,” said Michael Hayden, MD, president of global R&D and chief scientific officer at Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd.
The adverse events (AEs) observed for custirsen were similar to its known AE profile.
Full efficacy and safety data from SYNERGY will be submitted for presentation at an upcoming scientific conference.
About Custirsen
Custirsen is an experimental drug that is designed to block the production of the protein clusterin, which may play a fundamental role in cancer cell survival and treatment resistance. Clusterin is upregulated in tumor cells in response to treatment interventions such as chemotherapy, hormone ablation and radiation therapy and has been found to be overexpressed in a number of cancers, including prostate, lung, breast and bladder. Increased clusterin production has been linked to faster rates of cancer progression, treatment resistance and shorter survival duration. By inhibiting clusterin, custirsen is designed to alter tumor dynamics, slowing tumor growth and resistance to partner treatments, so that the benefits of therapy, including survival, may be extended.
As part of Phase 1 and Phase 2 clinical trials, custirsen was administered to 294 patients with various types of cancer. The majority of adverse events were mild. The most common adverse events associated with custirsen consisted of flu-like symptoms. The most common serious adverse events (SAE) associated with custirsen were febrile neutropenia, fever, pleural effusion, and dyspnea. Each SAE event was observed in approximately 2%-4% of patients.
About Teva
Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. (NYSE:TEVA) is a leading global pharmaceutical company, committed to increasing access to high-quality healthcare by developing, producing and marketing affordable generic drugs as well as innovative and specialty pharmaceuticals and active pharmaceutical ingredients. Headquartered in Israel, Teva is the world’s leading generic drug maker, with a global product portfolio of more than 1,000 molecules and a direct presence in approximately 60 countries. Teva’s branded businesses focus on CNS, oncology, pain, respiratory and women’s health therapeutic areas as well as biologics. Teva currently employs approximately 45,000 people around the world and reached $20.3 billion in net revenues in 2013.
About OncoGenex
OncoGenex is a biopharmaceutical company committed to the development and commercialization of new therapies that address treatment resistance in cancer patients. OncoGenex has a diverse oncology pipeline, with each product candidate having a distinct mechanism of action and representing a unique opportunity for cancer drug development. OncoGenex and Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. have entered a global collaboration and licensing agreement to develop and commercialize OncoGenex’ lead drug candidate, custirsen. Custirsen utilizes second-generation antisense technology, licensed from Isis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: ISIS), to effectively target and inhibit production of clusterin. OncoGenex and Isis partnered in the successful discovery of custirsen and in its initial development. Custirsen is currently in Phase 3 clinical development as a treatment in men with metastatic castrate-resistant prostate cancer and in patients with advanced, unresectable non-small cell lung cancer. Apatorsen is in Phase 2 clinical development and OGX-225 is currently in pre-clinical development. More information is available at www.OncoGenex.com and at the company’s Twitter account: https://twitter.com/OncoGenex_IR.
OncoGenex’ Forward Looking Statements
This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the “safe harbor” provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, including, but not limited to, statements concerning the potential benefits of our product candidates. All statements other than statements of historical fact are statements that could be deemed forward-looking statements. These statements are based on management’s current expectations and beliefs and are subject to a number of risks, uncertainties and assumptions that could cause actual results to differ materially from those described in the forward-looking statements, including, among others, the risk that our product candidates will not demonstrate the hypothesized or expected benefits, the risk of delays in our expected clinical trials and the other factors described in our risk factors set forth in our filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission from time to time, including the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K and Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q. The Company undertakes no obligation to update the forward-looking statements contained herein or to reflect events or circumstances occurring after the date hereof, other than as may be required by applicable law.
Teva’s Safe Harbor Statement under the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995:
This release contains forward-looking statements, which are based on management’s current beliefs and expectations and involve a number of known and unknown risks and uncertainties that could cause our future results, performance or achievements to differ significantly from the results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Important factors that could cause or contribute to such differences include risks relating to: our ability to develop and commercialize additional pharmaceutical products; competition for our innovative products, especially COPAXONE® (including competition from orally-administered alternatives, as well as from potential purported generic equivalents); the possibility of material fines, penalties and other sanctions and other adverse consequences arising out of our ongoing FCPA investigations and related matters; our ability to achieve expected results from the research and development efforts invested in our pipeline of specialty and other products; our ability to reduce operating expenses to the extent and during the timeframe intended by our cost reduction program; our ability to identify and successfully bid for suitable acquisition targets or licensing opportunities, or to consummate and integrate acquisitions; the extent to which any manufacturing or quality control problems damage our reputation for quality production and require costly remediation; our potential exposure to product liability claims that are not covered by insurance; increased government scrutiny in both the U.S. and Europe of our patent settlement agreements; our exposure to currency fluctuations and restrictions as well as credit risks; the effectiveness of our patents, confidentiality agreements and other measures to protect the intellectual property rights of our specialty medicines; the effects of reforms in healthcare regulation and pharmaceutical pricing, reimbursement and coverage; governmental investigations into sales and marketing practices, particularly for our specialty pharmaceutical products; uncertainties related to our recent management changes; the effects of increased leverage and our resulting reliance on access to the capital markets; any failure to recruit or retain key personnel, or to attract additional executive and managerial talent; adverse effects of political or economical instability, major hostilities or acts of terrorism on our significant worldwide operations; interruptions in our supply chain or problems with internal or third-party information technology systems that adversely affect our complex manufacturing processes; significant disruptions of our information technology systems or breaches of our data security; competition for our generic products, both from other pharmaceutical companies and as a result of increased governmental pricing pressures; competition for our specialty pharmaceutical businesses from companies with greater resources and capabilities; decreased opportunities to obtain U.S. market exclusivity for significant new generic products; potential liability in the U.S., Europe and other markets for sales of generic products prior to a final resolution of outstanding patent litigation; any failures to comply with complex Medicare and Medicaid reporting and payment obligations; the impact of continuing consolidation of our distributors and customers; significant impairment charges relating to intangible assets and goodwill; potentially significant increases in tax liabilities; the effect on our overall effective tax rate of the termination or expiration of governmental programs or tax benefits, or of a change in our business; variations in patent laws that may adversely affect our ability to manufacture our products in the most efficient manner; environmental risks; and other factors that are discussed in our Annual Report on Form 20-F for the year ended December 31, 2013 and in our other filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Forward-looking statements speak only as of the date on which they are made and we assume no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.
Contacts
Teva Pharmaceutical
IR:
United States
Kevin C. Mannix, 215-591-8912
or
Ran Meir, 215-591-3033
or
Israel
Tomer Amitai, 972 (3) 926-7656
or
OncoGenex
Susan Specht, 425-686-1535
or
PR
Israel
Iris Beck Codner, 972 (3) 926-7687
or
United States
Denise Bradley, 215-591-8974
or
Nancy Leone, 215-284-0213
or
OncoGenex
Jaime Welch, 604-630-5403
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