BeOne Medicines Receives Positive CHMP Opinion for TEVIMBRA® in Neoadjuvant/Adjuvant NSCLC Treatment

Globe and Mail

7 days ago

BeOne Medicines Ltd. (NASDAQ: ONC; HKEX: 06160; SSE: 688235), a global oncology company, today announced that the Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use (CHMP) of the European Medicines Agency issued a positive opinion recommending approval of TEVIMBRA ® (tislelizumab), in combination with platinum-containing chemotherapy as neoadjuvant treatment and then continued as monotherapy as adjuvant treatment, for the treatment of adult patients with resectable non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) at high risk of recurrence. This recommendation is based on the Phase 3 RATIONALE-315 study ( NCT04379635).
'Patients with resectable, early-stage NSCLC face an urgent challenge – despite surgery and current therapies, recurrence rates remain alarmingly high,' said Dr. Mariano Provencio, Head of the Medical Oncology Department at Hospital Universitario Puerta de Hierro and Professor at the Faculty of Medicine of Universidad Autonoma de Madrid in Spain. 'The significant clinical benefit observed in the RATIONALE-315 study has important implications for patients. If approved, perioperative tislelizumab will offer oncologists a powerful new option to improve outcomes and potentially alter the course of this difficult-to-treat disease.'
RATIONALE-315 is a double-blind, placebo-controlled, multicenter, Phase 3 study that randomized 453 patients with resectable NSCLC 1:1 to receive either TEVIMBRA plus platinum-based doublet chemotherapy as neoadjuvant treatment followed by TEVIMBRA as adjuvant treatment or placebo plus platinum-based doublet chemotherapy as neoadjuvant treatment followed by placebo as adjuvant treatment. As previously reported at the European Society for Medical Oncology (ESMO) Congress Virtual Plenary in February 2024 1, the dual primary endpoints of event-free survival (EFS) and major pathologic response (MPR) were met at the interim analyses of the RATIONALE-315 study. Results include:
Statistically significant and clinically meaningful improvement in MPR and pathological complete response (pCR) rates:
56.2% of NSCLC patients treated with TEVIMBRA in combination with chemotherapy before surgery achieved MPR compared to 15.0% of patients treated with chemotherapy in combination with placebo (difference: 41.1%; 95% CI: 33.2-49.1, p<0.0001)
40.7% of patients on the TEVIMBRA-based regimen achieved pCR, compared to 5.7% of patients treated with chemotherapy in combination with placebo (difference: 35.0%; 95% CI: 27.9-42.1, p<0.0001)
Statistically significant EFS (HR [95% CI], 0.56 [0.40–0.79]; 1-sided P=0.0003) and trend for overall survival (OS) (HR [95% CI], 0.62 [0.39–0.98]; 1-sided P=0.0193) benefits favoring TEVIMBRA in early data.
Consistent safety profile of the TEVIMBRA arm with that of individual therapies, with 72.1% of patients in the TEVIMBRA arm (vs. 66.4% in the placebo arm) experiencing grade ≥3 treatment-related adverse events (TRAEs) and 15.5% of patients in the TEVIMBRA arm (vs. 8.0% in the placebo arm) experiencing serious TRAEs. There were no new safety signals identified with this regimen, and the most common Grade 3 or 4 TRAEs (≥ 10%) in the TEVIMBRA arm were decreased neutrophil count and decreased white blood cell count.
No impact on the feasibility and completeness of surgery, a key concern around neoadjuvant treatment.
Updated EFS and OS data from the pre-planned final analysis of RATIONALE-315 will be submitted for presentation at an upcoming medical conference.
'TEVIMBRA is already approved in the EU across multiple settings in NSCLC, the most common form of lung cancer, and this positive CHMP opinion expands its potential to help patients earlier in their treatment journey,' said Mark Lanasa, M.D., Ph.D., Chief Medical Officer, Solid Tumors at BeOne. 'As the foundational asset of our solid tumor portfolio, TEVIMBRA continues to demonstrate its strength and versatility across the continuum of care, bringing us closer to our goal of delivering more comprehensive and effective cancer treatment to more patients.'
In lung cancer, TEVIMBRA is already approved in the EU for the first-line treatment of patients with squamous NSCLC, for the first-line treatment of patients with non-squamous NSCLC with PD-L1 high expression, for the treatment of patients with locally advanced or metastatic NSCLC after prior platinum-based therapy, and as a first-line treatment for extensive-stage small cell lung cancer (ES-SCLC). It is also approved as a first-line treatment for patients with gastric or gastroesophageal junction (G/GEJ) adenocarcinoma, as a first-line treatment for unresectable esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC), as a second-line treatment in ESCC after prior platinum-based chemotherapy, and as a first-line treatment for patients with nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC).
About NSCLC
Lung cancer is the most commonly diagnosed type of cancer and the leading cause of cancer-related death worldwide. 2 In Europe, lung cancer is the third most frequent cancer with 484,306 new cases diagnosed in 2022. 3 NSCLC accounts for 80–90% of all lung cancers 4, of which resectable NSCLC patients at diagnosis represent around 25–30% 5.
About TEVIMBRA (tislelizumab)
TEVIMBRA is a uniquely designed humanized immunoglobulin G4 (IgG4) anti-programmed cell death protein 1 (PD-1) monoclonal antibody with high affinity and binding specificity against PD-1. It is designed to minimize binding to Fc-gamma (Fcγ) receptors on macrophages, helping to aid the body's immune cells to detect and fight tumors.
TEVIMBRA is the foundational asset of BeOne's solid tumor portfolio and has shown potential across multiple tumor types and disease settings. The global TEVIMBRA clinical development program includes almost 14,000 patients enrolled to date in 35 countries and regions across 70 trials, including 21 registration-enabling studies. TEVIMBRA is approved in 46 countries, and more than 1.5 million patients have been treated globally.
Important Safety Information
The current European Summary of Product Characteristics (SmPC) for TEVIMBRA is available from the European Medicines Agency.
This information is intended for a global audience. Product indications vary by region.
About BeOne
BeOne Medicines is a global oncology company domiciled in Switzerland that is discovering and developing innovative treatments that are more affordable and accessible to cancer patients worldwide. With a portfolio spanning hematology and solid tumors, BeOne is expediting development of its diverse pipeline of novel therapeutics through its internal capabilities and collaborations. With a growing global team of more than 11,000 colleagues spanning six continents, the Company is committed to radically improving access to medicines for far more patients who need them. To learn more about BeOne, please visit www.beonemedicines.com and follow us on LinkedIn, X, Facebook and Instagram.
Forward-Looking Statement
This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 and other federal securities laws, including statements regarding the ability of TEVIMBRA to improve patient outcome and potentially alter the course of the disease and to potentially help patients earlier in their treatment journey; the ability of BeOne to deliver more comprehensive and effective cancer treatment to more patients; and BeOne's plans, commitments, aspirations, and goals under the heading 'About BeOne.' Actual results may differ materially from those indicated in the forward-looking statements as a result of various important factors, including BeOne's ability to demonstrate the efficacy and safety of its drug candidates; the clinical results for its drug candidates, which may not support further development or marketing approval; actions of regulatory agencies, which may affect the initiation, timing, and progress of clinical trials and marketing approval; BeOne's ability to achieve commercial success for its marketed medicines and drug candidates, if approved; BeOne's ability to obtain and maintain protection of intellectual property for its medicines and technology; BeOne's reliance on third parties to conduct drug development, manufacturing, commercialization, and other services; BeOne's limited experience in obtaining regulatory approvals and commercializing pharmaceutical products and its ability to obtain additional funding for operations and to complete the development of its drug candidates and achieve and maintain profitability; and those risks more fully discussed in the section entitled 'Risk Factors' in BeOne's most recent quarterly report on Form 10-Q, as well as discussions of potential risks, uncertainties, and other important factors in BeOne's subsequent filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. All information in this press release is as of the date of this press release, and BeOne undertakes no duty to update such information unless required by law.
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