FDA approves third oncology drug that targets a key genetic driver of cancer, rather than a specific

FDA approves third oncology drug that targets a key genetic driver of cancer, rather than a specific

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration today granted accelerated approval to Rozlytrek (entrectinib), a treatment for adult and adolescent patients whose cancers have the specific genetic defect, NTRK (neurotrophic tyrosine receptor kinase) gene fusion and for whom there are no effective treatments.

“We are in an exciting era of innovation in cancer treatment as we continue to see development in tissue agnostic therapies, which have the potential to transform cancer treatment. We’re seeing continued advances in the use of biomarkers to guide drug development and the more targeted delivery of medicine,” said FDA Acting Commissioner Ned Sharpless, M.D. “Using the FDA’s expedited review pathways, including breakthrough therapy designation and accelerated approval process, we’re supporting this innovation in precision oncology drug development and the evolution of more targeted and effective treatments for cancer patients. We remain committed to encouraging the advancement of more targeted innovations in oncology treatment and across disease types based on our growing understanding of the underlying biology of diseases.”

This is the third time the agency has approved a cancer treatment based on a common biomarker across different types of tumors rather than the location in the body where the tumor originated. The approval marks a new paradigm in the development of cancer drugs that are “tissue agnostic.” It follows the policies that the FDA developed in a guidance document released in 2018. The previous tissue agnostic indications approved by the FDA were pembrolizumab for tumors with microsatellite instability-high (MSI-H) or mismatch repair deficient (dMMR) tumors in 2017 and larotrectinib for NTRK gene fusion tumors in 2018.

“Today’s approval includes an indication for pediatric patients, 12 years of age and older, who have NTRK-fusion-positive tumors by relying on efficacy information obtained primarily in adults. The FDA continues to encourage the inclusion of adolescents in clinical trials. Traditionally, clinical development of new cancer drugs in pediatric populations is not started until development is well underway in adults, and often not until after approval of an adult indication,” said Richard Pazdur, M.D., director of the FDA’s Oncology Center of Excellence and acting director of the Office of Hematology and Oncology Products in the FDA’s Center for Drug Evaluation and Research. “Efficacy in adolescents was derived from adult data and safety was demonstrated in 30 pediatric patients.”

The ability of Rozlytrek to shrink tumors was evaluated in four clinical trials studying 54 adults with NTRK fusion-positive tumors. The proportion of patients with substantial tumor shrinkage (overall response rate) was 57%, with 7.4% of patients having complete disappearance of the tumor. Among the 31 patients with tumor shrinkage, 61% had tumor shrinkage persist for nine months or longer. The most common cancer locations were the lung, salivary gland, breast, thyroid and colon/rectum.

Rozlytrek was also approved today for the treatment of adults with non-small cell lung cancer whose tumors are ROS1-positive (mutation of the ROS1 gene) and has spread to other parts of the body (metastatic). Clinical studies evaluated 51 adults with ROS1-positive lung cancer. The overall response rate was 78%, with 5.9% of patients having complete disappearance of their cancer. Among the 40 patients with tumor shrinkage, 55% had tumor shrinkage persist for 12 months or longer.

Rozlytrek’s common side effects are fatigue, constipation, dysgeusia (distorted sense of taste), edema (swelling), dizziness, diarrhea, nausea, dysesthesia (distorted sense of touch), dyspnea (shortness of breath), myalgia (painful or aching muscles), cognitive impairment (confusion, problems with memory or attention, difficulty speaking, or hallucinations), weight gain, cough, vomiting, fever, arthralgia and vision disorders (blurred vision, sensitivity to light, double vision, worsening of vision, cataracts, or floaters). The most serious side effects of Rozlytrek are congestive heart failure (weakening or damage to the heart muscle), central nervous system effects (cognitive impairment, anxiety, depression including suicidal thinking, dizziness or loss of balance, and change in sleep pattern, including insomnia and excessive sleepiness), skeletal fractures, hepatotoxicity (damage to the liver), hyperuricemia (elevated uric acid), QT prolongation (abnormal heart rhythm) and vision disorders. Health care professionals should inform females of reproductive age and males with a female partner of reproductive potential to use effective contraception during treatment with Rozlytrek. Women who are pregnant or breastfeeding should not take Rozlytrek because it may cause harm to a developing fetus or newborn baby.

Rozlytrek was granted accelerated approval. This approval commits the sponsor to provide additional data to the FDA. Rozlytrek also received Priority Review, Breakthrough Therapyand Orphan Drug designation. The approval of Rozlytrek was granted to Genentech, Inc.

Roche’s first FDA-approved tumour-agnostic medicine

Roche has announced that the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved Rozlytrek™ (entrectinib) for the treatment of adults with ROS1-positive, metastatic non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). The FDA has also granted accelerated approval to Rozlytrek for the treatment of adult and paediatric patients 12 years of age and older with solid tumours that have a neurotrophic tyrosine receptor kinase (NTRK) gene fusion without a known acquired resistance mutation, are metastatic or where surgical resection is likely to result in severe morbidity, and have progressed following treatment or have no satisfactory alternative therapy.

These approvals are based on results from the integrated analysis of the pivotal Phase II STARTRK-2, Phase I STARTRK-1 and Phase I ALKA-372-001 trials, and data from the Phase I/II STARTRK-NG study. In the integrated analysis, Rozlytrek was studied in several solid tumour types, including breast, cholangiocarcinoma, colorectal, gynaecological, neuroendocrine, non-small cell lung, salivary gland, pancreatic, sarcoma and thyroid cancers. In ROS1-positive, metastatic NSCLC, Rozlytrek shrank tumours in 78% of people with the disease (overall response rate [ORR]; N=51) and the duration of response (DoR) ranged from 1.8 to 36.8+ months (N=40 out of 51).1 Rozlytrek also shrank tumours in more than half of people with NTRK gene fusion-positive, locally advanced or metastatic solid tumours (ORR=57%; N=54), and objective responses were observed across 10 tumour types (DoR ranged from 2.8 to 26.0+ months; N=31 out of 54).1 Objective responses to Rozlytrek were seen in people with central nervous system (CNS) metastases at baseline.

“Rozlytrek’s FDA approval for two rare types of cancer is an important advance for patients, combining a targeted medicine and genomic testing to bring this new treatment option to patients who are waiting,” said Sandra Horning, MD, Roche’s Chief Medical Officer and Head of Global Product Development. “Rozlytrek is the first FDA-approved treatment that selectively targets both ROS1 and NTRK fusions, and, importantly, has also shown responses in these rare cancer types that have spread to the brain.”

The most common adverse reactions (≥20 percent) with Rozlytrek were fatigue, constipation, altered sense of taste (dysgeusia), swelling (oedema), dizziness, diarrhoea, nausea, nervous system disorders (dysaesthesia), shortness of breath (dyspnoea), muscle pain (myalgia), cognitive impairment, increased weight, cough, vomiting, fever (pyrexia), joint pain (arthralgia) and vision disorders.

The FDA’s Accelerated Approval Program allows conditional approval of a medicine that fills an unmet medical need for a serious or life-threatening disease or condition.2 The accelerated approval for NTRK gene fusion-positive solid tumors is based on tumour response rate and durability of response, and continued approval may be contingent upon verification and description of clinical benefit in the confirmatory trials.

Biomarker testing for ROS1 in NSCLC and NTRK gene fusions across all solid tumours is the only way to identify people who are eligible for treatment with Rozlytrek. Roche is leveraging its expertise in developing personalised medicines and advanced diagnostics, in conjunction with Foundation Medicine, to help identify people with ROS1 and NTRK gene fusions. Foundation Medicine will submit Foundation One CDx to the FDA for approval as a companion diagnostic for Rozlytrek. An FDA-approved companion diagnostic for Rozlytrek is not available at this time.