Phase III trials start
Posted: Wed Sep 26, 2007 6:41 am
Genzyme and Bayer Schering Pharma AG, Germany Announce Start of Phase 3 Program with Alemtuzumab for Treatment of Multiple Sclerosis 26 September 2007
Genzyme Corporation and Bayer Schering Pharma AG, Germany today announced that the first patient has been treated in the first of two planned Phase 3 trials examining the safety and efficacy of alemtuzumab for the treatment of multiple sclerosis (MS).
The CARE-MS I trial (Comparison of Alemtuzumab and Rebif Efficacy in Multiple Sclerosis), a randomised, rater-blinded study, will compare alemtuzumab to Rebif(R) (interferon beta-1a) in patients with relapsing- remitting multiple sclerosis (MS). Alemtuzumab will be given in two annual cycles; Rebif will be administered three times per week. The CARE-MS I study will include patients who have been diagnosed with relapsing-remitting MS but who have not yet begun treatment with any MS drug. CARE-MS II is scheduled to begin soon and will enroll patients who have continued to experience relapse episodes while on currently available disease-modifying therapies.
Initiation of this Phase 3 program follows the successful completion of the initial treatment period in the Phase 2 trial. Interim results from the Phase 2 trial indicated that alemtuzumab-treated patients experienced a statistically significant reduction compared with Rebif-treated patients in the risk for sustained accumulation of disability and the risk for relapse for 24 months. Results of the primary outcomes from this trial at 36 months are expected to be presented on Oct. 14 by Professor Alastair Compston during the Charcot Award lecture at the annual meeting of the European Committee for Treatment and Research in Multiple Sclerosis, in Prague.
The CARE-MS I study will enroll up to 525 patients at approximately 60 medical centers throughout North America, Australia, Latin America, and Europe, and will again compare alemtuzumab-treated patients to Rebif-treated patients according to two co-primary endpoints: the time to sustained accumulation of disability, and the annualized relapse rate. Alemtuzumab will be dosed at 12 mg/day for five days by daily IV infusion, with a second dosing 12 months later of 12 mg/day for three days. All patients will be followed from their entry into the trial until two years from the date that the last patient is randomized to treatment. Alemtuzumab-treated patients will continue to have safety evaluations for at least three years after the last course of treatment. The companies anticipate filing for marketing approval of alemtuzumab for the treatment of MS in 2011.
Alemtuzumab is an investigational drug for the treatment of MS and must not be used outside of a formal clinical trial setting in MS patients. Physicians or patients seeking additional information about the CARE-MS I trial should contact Genzyme Medical Information at 1-800-745-4447, option 2 in the United States, + 31 35 6991499 in Europe
About Alemtuzumab
Alemtuzumab is licensed in the United States as a single agent for the treatment of B-cell chronic lymphocytic leukemia (B-CLL), and outside of the U.S. for the treatment of B-CLL in patients who have been treated with alkylating agents and who have failed fludarabine therapy. The product was launched in its oncology indication in 2001 in the US, where it is marketed by Bayer HealthCare Pharmaceuticals Inc. as Campath(R), and in Europe, where it is named MabCampath(R).
Alemtuzumab is a humanized monoclonal antibody that binds to a specific target, CD52, on cell surfaces and directs the body's immune system to destroy those cells. It is the first and only monoclonal antibody approved by the FDA for the treatment of patients with B-CLL.
Genzyme and Bayer Schering Pharma AG, Germany are co-developing alemtuzumab in oncology, multiple sclerosis and other indications. Bayer Schering Pharma AG, Germany holds exclusive worldwide marketing and distribution rights to alemtuzumab.
Campath has a boxed warning which includes information on cytopenias, infusion reactions, and infections. The most commonly reported adverse reactions in patients with B-CLL were infusion reactions (fever, chills, hypotension, urticaria, nausea, rash, tachycardia, dyspnea), cytopenias (neutropenia, lymphopenia, thrombocytopenia, anemia), and infections (CMV viremia, CMV infection, other infections). In clinical trials, the frequency of infusion reactions was highest in the first week of treatment. Other commonly reported adverse reactions include vomiting, abdominal pain, insomnia and anxiety. The most commonly reported serious adverse reactions are cytopenias, infusion reactions, and immunosuppression/infections.
Source: Genzyme Corporation and Bayer Schering Pharma AG, Germany (26/09/07)
Genzyme Corporation and Bayer Schering Pharma AG, Germany today announced that the first patient has been treated in the first of two planned Phase 3 trials examining the safety and efficacy of alemtuzumab for the treatment of multiple sclerosis (MS).
The CARE-MS I trial (Comparison of Alemtuzumab and Rebif Efficacy in Multiple Sclerosis), a randomised, rater-blinded study, will compare alemtuzumab to Rebif(R) (interferon beta-1a) in patients with relapsing- remitting multiple sclerosis (MS). Alemtuzumab will be given in two annual cycles; Rebif will be administered three times per week. The CARE-MS I study will include patients who have been diagnosed with relapsing-remitting MS but who have not yet begun treatment with any MS drug. CARE-MS II is scheduled to begin soon and will enroll patients who have continued to experience relapse episodes while on currently available disease-modifying therapies.
Initiation of this Phase 3 program follows the successful completion of the initial treatment period in the Phase 2 trial. Interim results from the Phase 2 trial indicated that alemtuzumab-treated patients experienced a statistically significant reduction compared with Rebif-treated patients in the risk for sustained accumulation of disability and the risk for relapse for 24 months. Results of the primary outcomes from this trial at 36 months are expected to be presented on Oct. 14 by Professor Alastair Compston during the Charcot Award lecture at the annual meeting of the European Committee for Treatment and Research in Multiple Sclerosis, in Prague.
The CARE-MS I study will enroll up to 525 patients at approximately 60 medical centers throughout North America, Australia, Latin America, and Europe, and will again compare alemtuzumab-treated patients to Rebif-treated patients according to two co-primary endpoints: the time to sustained accumulation of disability, and the annualized relapse rate. Alemtuzumab will be dosed at 12 mg/day for five days by daily IV infusion, with a second dosing 12 months later of 12 mg/day for three days. All patients will be followed from their entry into the trial until two years from the date that the last patient is randomized to treatment. Alemtuzumab-treated patients will continue to have safety evaluations for at least three years after the last course of treatment. The companies anticipate filing for marketing approval of alemtuzumab for the treatment of MS in 2011.
Alemtuzumab is an investigational drug for the treatment of MS and must not be used outside of a formal clinical trial setting in MS patients. Physicians or patients seeking additional information about the CARE-MS I trial should contact Genzyme Medical Information at 1-800-745-4447, option 2 in the United States, + 31 35 6991499 in Europe
About Alemtuzumab
Alemtuzumab is licensed in the United States as a single agent for the treatment of B-cell chronic lymphocytic leukemia (B-CLL), and outside of the U.S. for the treatment of B-CLL in patients who have been treated with alkylating agents and who have failed fludarabine therapy. The product was launched in its oncology indication in 2001 in the US, where it is marketed by Bayer HealthCare Pharmaceuticals Inc. as Campath(R), and in Europe, where it is named MabCampath(R).
Alemtuzumab is a humanized monoclonal antibody that binds to a specific target, CD52, on cell surfaces and directs the body's immune system to destroy those cells. It is the first and only monoclonal antibody approved by the FDA for the treatment of patients with B-CLL.
Genzyme and Bayer Schering Pharma AG, Germany are co-developing alemtuzumab in oncology, multiple sclerosis and other indications. Bayer Schering Pharma AG, Germany holds exclusive worldwide marketing and distribution rights to alemtuzumab.
Campath has a boxed warning which includes information on cytopenias, infusion reactions, and infections. The most commonly reported adverse reactions in patients with B-CLL were infusion reactions (fever, chills, hypotension, urticaria, nausea, rash, tachycardia, dyspnea), cytopenias (neutropenia, lymphopenia, thrombocytopenia, anemia), and infections (CMV viremia, CMV infection, other infections). In clinical trials, the frequency of infusion reactions was highest in the first week of treatment. Other commonly reported adverse reactions include vomiting, abdominal pain, insomnia and anxiety. The most commonly reported serious adverse reactions are cytopenias, infusion reactions, and immunosuppression/infections.
Source: Genzyme Corporation and Bayer Schering Pharma AG, Germany (26/09/07)
