Swedish Orphan Biovitrum AB (publ) (Sobi™) (STO:SOBI) and Apellis Pharmaceuticals Inc. (Nasdaq: APLS) today announced positive top-line results at week 48 from the phase 3 PEGASUS study, which demonstrated sustained haematological and clinical improvements in patients with paroxysmal nocturnal haemoglobinuria (PNH) who were treated with pegcetacoplan, an investigational, targeted C3 therapy.
| STOCKHOLM and WALTHAM, Mass., Dec. 10, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Swedish Orphan Biovitrum AB (publ) (Sobi™) (STO:SOBI) and Apellis Pharmaceuticals Inc. (Nasdaq: APLS) today announced positive top-line results at week 48 from the phase 3 PEGASUS study, which demonstrated sustained haematological and clinical improvements in patients with paroxysmal nocturnal haemoglobinuria (PNH) who were treated with pegcetacoplan, an investigational, targeted C3 therapy. The safety profile of pegcetacoplan was consistent with previously reported data and no new safety signals were identified. All patients (n=77) who completed the 16-week randomized controlled period of the PEGASUS study, which evaluated pegcetacoplan compared to eculizumab, entered the open-label period and received pegcetacoplan from week 17 to week 48. At week 48, haemoglobin increases were sustained in pegcetacoplan-treated patients with a mean improvement from baseline of 2.7 g/dL which is equal to the 2.7 g/dL mean increase seen at week 16 with pegcetacoplan-treated patients. Additionally, eculizumab-treated patients who switched to pegcetacoplan during the open-label period experienced sustained improvements in haemoglobin and other haematological and clinical measures, similar to patients treated with pegcetacoplan monotherapy during the randomized controlled period. “These long-term results show that pegcetacoplan has the potential to help patients with PNH gain and maintain more complete control of the disease,” said Federico Grossi, M.D., Ph.D., chief medical officer of Apellis. “The sustained haematologic and quality-of-life improvements and consistent safety profile of pegcetacoplan observed in this study adds to a growing body of evidence that demonstrates the potential of this investigational, targeted C3 therapy to elevate the standard of care and improve the lives of people with PNH.” In addition to a sustained improvement in haemoglobin, patients treated with pegcetacoplan maintained improvements across key secondary endpoints. Throughout the 48-week study, 73 per cent of patients treated with pegcetacoplan remained transfusion free. For comparison, 25 per cent of patients were transfusion free over the year prior to entering the PEGASUS study while on treatment with eculizumab. Improvements across additional markers of disease, such as reticulocyte count, lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) levels and the Functional Assessment of Chronic Illness Therapy (FACIT)-fatigue scores, were maintained. Overall, the safety profile of pegcetacoplan was consistent with previously reported data throughout the 48-week study. 24 of 80 pegcetacoplan monotherapy-treated patients (30 per cent) experienced a serious adverse event (SAE); five of the SAEs (6 per cent) were assessed to be possibly related to study treatment. No cases of meningitis were reported. One death was reported due to COVID-19 and was unrelated to study treatment. The most common adverse events (AEs) reported throughout the study were injection site reactions (36 per cent), haemolysis (24 per cent), and diarrhoea (21 per cent). 12 out of 80 patients (15 per cent) discontinued due to adverse events, with five discontinuations due to haemolysis. 64 of the 67 patients (96 per cent) who completed the open-label period opted to enter the extension study. “Despite existing treatments, many patients with PNH continue to suffer from persistently low haemoglobin, which can lead to a need for frequent transfusions and debilitating fatigue,” said Ravi Rao, Head of R&D and Chief Medical Officer at Sobi. “The long-term data suggest that pegcetacoplan, if approved has the potential to provide meaningful and durable benefits to these patients with high unmet medical need.” Marketing applications for pegcetacoplan for the treatment of PNH are under review by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the European Medicines Agency (EMA). The FDA granted the application Priority Review designation and set a target action date of May 14, 2021. An opinion from the Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use (CHMP) is expected in 2021. Detailed data will be presented at a future medical congress. About the PEGASUS Study About pegcetacoplan About Paroxysmal Nocturnal Haemoglobinuria (PNH) About Apellis About Sobi™ This information is information that Swedish Orphan Biovitrum AB (publ) is obliged to make public pursuant to the EU Market Abuse Regulation. The information was submitted for publication, through the agency of the contact person set out below, at 12:00 CET on 10 December 2020. For more information please contact Sobi Apellis Investors 1. McKinley C. Extravascular Hemolysis Due to C3-Loading in Patients with PNH Treated with Eculizumab: Defining the Clinical Syndrome. Blood. 2017;130:3471.
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SOURCE Swedish Orphan Biovitrum AB | ||||
Company Codes: Bloomberg:SOBI@SS, ISIN:SE0000872095, RICS:SOBI.ST, Stockholm:SOBI |
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