The Antibody Society

the official website of the antibody society

An international non-profit supporting antibody-related research and development.

You are here: Home / Archives for European Medicines Agency

Vabysmo™ (faricimab) approved in the European Union for ophthalmic disorders

by

On September 15, 2022, the European Commission approved Vabysmo ™ (faricimab) for the treatment of wet, or neovascular, age-related macular degeneration (AMD) and visual impairment due to diabetic macular edema (DME). Faricimab (RO6867461, RG7716) is an anti-vascular endothelial growth factor-A (VEGF-A) and anti-angiopoietin-2 (Ang-2) bispecific antibody derived from Roche’s CrossMab technology.

The approval in the European Union was based in part on results from four Phase 3 studies in wet AMD and DME. The TENAYA (NCT03823287) and LUCERNE (NCT03823300) studies evaluated the effects of faricimab (6.0 mg administered at fixed intervals of every two, three, or four months) and aflibercept (Eylea®) (2.0 mg administered at fixed two-month intervals) in wet AMD patients. The YOSEMITE (NCT03622580) and RHINE studies (NCT03622593) compared the effects of faricimab (6.0 mg administered at personalized treatment intervals (PTI) of up to four months or 6.0 mg administered at fixed two-month intervals) to those of aflibercept (2.0 mg administered at fixed two-month intervals) in DME patients. Results of the TENAYA and LUCERNE and YOSEMITE and RHINE studies were published in The Lancet.

Interested in more information? Explore our searchable table of antibody therapeutics approved in the EU or US for details.

Xevudy (sotrovimab) approved in the EU for COVID-19

by

On December 17, 2021, GlaxoSmithKline plc and Vir Biotechnology, Inc. announced that the European Commission has granted a marketing authorization to Xevudy (sotrovimab) for the early treatment of COVID-19. Sotrovimab is now approved in the European Union for the treatment of adults and adolescents (aged 12 years and over and weighing at least 40kg) with COVID-19 who do not require supplemental oxygen and who are at increased risk of progressing to severe COVID-19. Sotrovimab, a human anti-SARS-CoV-2 IgG1 antibody derived from the B cell of a COVID-19 survivor, was engineered to achieve high concentration in the lungs and to have an extended half-life.

The marketing application included data from the randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled Phase 1/2/3 COMET-ICE trial (NCT04545060), which evaluated the effects of sotrovimab in non-hospitalized adults with mild-to-moderate COVID-19 symptoms and a positive SARS-CoV-2 test result. Patients received a single intravenous dose of 500 mg sotrovimab or placebo. Study results showed that treatment with sotrovimab resulted in a 79% reduction in all-cause hospitalizations for more than 24 hours or death due to any cause by Day 29 compared to placebo, meeting the primary endpoint of the trial. In total, 30 (6%) of the 529 patients in the placebo arm progressed, compared to six (1%) of the 528 patients receiving sotrovimab.

Sotrovimab is authorized for emergency use in the US, conditional or provisional marketing authorizations in Great Britain, Australia, and Saudi Arabia, as well as temporary authorizations in other countries. Sotrovimab is administered as a 500-milligram single IV dose given over 30 minutes by health care providers. The product has, however, also been formulated for IM administration. In the randomized, open-label COMET-TAIL Phase 3 trial, which achieved its primary endpoint, IM administration of sotrovimab was non-inferior to IV administration for the early treatment of mild-to-moderate COVID-19 in high-risk, non-hospitalized adults and adolescents (12 years of age and older).

Antibodies to Watch in 2022

by

The On Demand version of this webinar is now available.

In “Antibodies to Watch in 2022”, Drs. Janice Reichert, Alicia Chenoweth and Silvia Crescioli discuss key events in antibody therapeutics development that occurred in 2021 and forecast events that might occur in 2022. The COVID-19 pandemic continued to pose challenges and opportunities to the healthcare system, but companies forged ahead with development plans, resulting in record numbers of antibody therapeutics in late-stage clinical studies and in regulatory review. Globally, regulatory agencies approved a record number of novel antibody-based products, including anti-SARS-CoV-2 antibodies. The speakers provide details of 2021 events and trends in the development of antibody therapeutics projected for 2022.

View On Demand webinar

Anti-SARS-CoV-2 antibody therapeutics Ronapreve and Regkirona approved in the EU

by

On November 11, 2021, the European Medicines Agency’s human medicines committee recommended authorizing anti-SARS-CoV-2 antibody therapeutics Ronapreve (casirivimab/imdevimab) and Regkirona (regdanvimab) for COVID-19.

  • The Committee recommended authorizing Ronapreve for treating COVID-19 in adults and adolescents (from 12 years of age and weighing at least 40 kilograms) who do not require supplemental oxygen and who are at increased risk of their disease becoming severe. Ronapreve can also be used for preventing COVID-19 in people aged 12 years and older weighing at least 40 kilograms. The company that applied for authorization of Ronapreve was Roche Registration GmbH.
  • The Committee recommended authorizing Regkirona for treating adults with COVID-19 who do not require supplemental oxygen and who are also at increased risk of their disease becoming severe. The applicant for Regkirona was Celltrion Healthcare Hungary Kft.

On November 12, 2021, the European Commission approved both products.

Bimekizumab authorized for marketing in the EU

by

On August 20, 2021, the European Commission authorized marketing of Bimzelx (bimekizumab) in the EU for the treatment of moderate to severe plaque psoriasis in adults who are candidates for systemic therapy. Bimekizumab is a humanized IgG1 kappa antibody that selectively inhibits IL-17A and IL-17F by binding regions that are common to these pro-inflammatory cytokines, which share ~50% sequence identity and are expressed as homodimers and IL-17A/F heterodimers. Bimekizumab is approved at a recommended dose of 320 mg, administered by two subcutaneous injections every four weeks to week 16 and every eight weeks thereafter. [1]

The decision to grant a marketing approval was supported by results from 3 Phase 3 studies that included an active comparator arm, ustekinumab (Stellara®; BE VIVID study; NCT03370133), adalimumab (Humira®; BE SURE study; NCT03412747), or secukinumab (Cosentyx®; BE RADIANT study; NCT03536884). All three pivotal studies met their co-primary endpoints at Week 16, demonstrating superiority of bimekizumab over the active comparator in certain defined measures (e.g., Psoriasis Area and Severity Index). Clinical responses achieved with bimekizumab at Week 16 were maintained up to one year. [2-4] Coprimary endpoints were also met in the Phase 3 BE READY study (NCT03410992), which investigated the efficacy and safety of bimekizumab in patients with moderate to severe plaque psoriasis compared to placebo. [5]

Bimzelx is the 8th antibody therapeutic to be first approved for marketing in the EU or US in 2021.

  1. European Medicines Agency. Bimzelx public assessment report.
  2. Reich K, Papp KA, Blauvelt A, et al. Bimekizumab versus ustekinumab for the treatment of moderate to severe plaque psoriasis (BE VIVID): efficacy and safety from a 52-week, multicentre, double-blind, active comparator and placebo-controlled phase 3 trial. Lancet. 2021;397(10273):487-498.
  3. Warren RB, Blauvelt A, Bagel J, et al. Bimekizumab versus Adalimumab in Plaque Psoriasis. N Engl J Med. 2021;385(2):130-141.
  4. Reich K, Warren RB, Lebwohl M, Gooderham M, Strober B, Langley RG, Paul C, De Cuyper D, Vanvoorden V, Madden C, Cioffi C, Peterson L, Blauvelt A. Bimekizumab versus Secukinumab in Plaque Psoriasis. N Engl J Med. 2021 Jul 8;385(2):142-152.
  5. Gordon KB, Foley P, Krueger JG, et al. Bimekizumab efficacy and safety in moderate to severe plaque psoriasis (BE READY): a multicentre, double-blind, placebo-controlled, randomised withdrawal phase 3 trial. Lancet. 2021;397(10273):475-486.