Eli Lilly and Company announced that the European Medicines Agency’s (EMA) Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use (CHMP) has issued a positive opinion recommending the granting of a conditional marketing authorization for olaratumab, in combination with doxorubicin, for the treatment of adults in the European Union (EU) with advanced soft tissue sarcoma (STS) not amenable to curative treatment with radiotherapy or surgery and who have not been previously treated with doxorubicin. The CHMP reviewed olaratumab under EMA’s accelerated assessment program. If approved, olaratumab will be marketed under the trade name LARTRUVO.
This is the first regulatory step in the world towards approval for olaratumab. The CHMP positive opinion is now referred for final action to the European Commission, which grants marketing authorization in the EU. The Commission usually makes a decision on marketing authorization within two to three months of the CHMP issuing its recommendation.
“Patients with advanced soft tissue sarcoma have been seeking new treatment options that can potentially extend lives, so they can have more time with their families and loved ones,” said Richard Gaynor, M.D., senior vice president of product development and medical affairs for Lilly Oncology. “Advanced soft tissue sarcoma is a rare disease that is difficult to treat, and this milestone brings us one step closer to providing physicians in Europe with a new option that they can offer to their patients.”
This will be Lilly’s first conditional approval in the EU. As part of a conditional marketing authorization, Lilly will need to provide results from an ongoing Phase 3 study. This study, ANNOUNCE, is fully enrolled. Until availability of the full data, the CHMP will review the benefits and risks of olaratumab annually to determine whether the conditional marketing authorization can be maintained.
The EMA previously granted olaratumab with Orphan Drug Designation for the treatment of soft tissue sarcoma in the EU.
The EU submission is based on data from Phase 2 JGDG, an open-label, randomized trial that compared olaratumab, in combination with doxorubicin chemotherapy, to doxorubicin alone in patients with advanced STS not amenable to curative treatment with surgery or radiotherapy and who have not been previously treated with doxorubicin. Efficacy endpoints included progression-free survival, overall survival and objective response rate.
Lilly has also submitted the results of this study to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for regulatory review. The FDA recently granted Lilly Priority Review status for olaratumab. Lilly also has received additional designations for olaratumab from the FDA for this indication, including Breakthrough Therapy, Fast Track and Orphan Drug.
Filed Under: Drug Discovery
