This indication is approved under the FDA's Accelerated Approval program based on overall response rate (ORR) and durability of response. Continued approval for this indication may be contingent upon verification and description of clinical benefit in a confirmatory trial(s).
"The FDA approval of EPKINLY offers a new treatment option for relapsed or refractory follicular lymphoma, particularly following failure of other therapies," said Mariana Cota Stirner, M.D., Ph.D., vice president, therapeutic area head for hematology, AbbVie. "EPKINLY treatment has shown deep and durable responses for many patients. Subcutaneous dosing offers convenience, and EPKINLY can be given to patients without mandatory hospitalization using a 3-step-up dosing regimen. We believe that EPKINLY has the potential to be a core therapy in the treatment of multiple B-cell malignancies and furthers our company mission to advance research to raise standards of care for patients with cancer."
Epcoritamab is being co-developed by AbbVie and Genmab as part of the companies' oncology collaboration. The companies will share commercial responsibilities in the U.S. and Japan, with AbbVie responsible for further global commercialization.
FL is typically an indolent (or slow-growing) form of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (NHL) that arises from B-lymphocytes and is the second most common form of NHL accounting for 20-30% of all cases.2 About 15,000 people develop FL each year in the U.S.3 and it is considered incurable with current standard of care therapies.4 Patients often relapse and, with each relapse the remission and time to next treatment is shorter.5 Over time, transformation to DLBCL, an aggressive form of NHL associated with poor survival outcomes, can occur in more than 25% of FL patients.6
"Patients with relapsed or refractory follicular lymphoma face significant treatment challenges, and there is currently no clear standard of care treatment available across practice settings," said Jeff Sharman, M.D., Disease Chair, Hematology Research, Sarah Cannon Research Institute (SCRI) at Willamette Valley Cancer Institute in Eugene, Oregon. "The responses observed in the follicular lymphoma cohort of the EPCORE NHL-1 clinical trial, as well as in patients with relapsed or refractory DLBCL from the trial, show the potential of EPKINLY to serve as an important treatment option for these patients."
"People living with follicular lymphoma are in need of additional options when their cancer returns," said Lee Greenberger, Ph.D., Chief Scientific Officer at The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. "Today's approval is welcome news for patients, as it provides another tool in the physician arsenal for this difficult-to-treat form of cancer."
About the Phase 1/2 EPCORE® NHL-1 Trial:
EPCORE® NHL-1 is an open-label, multi-center safety and preliminary efficacy trial of epcoritamab that consists of three parts: a dose escalation part; an expansion part; and an optimization part. The trial was designed to evaluate subcutaneous epcoritamab in patients with relapsed, progressive or refractory CD20+ mature B-cell non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (B-NHL), including FL after two or more lines of systemic therapy. In the expansion part, additional patients were enrolled to further explore the safety and efficacy of epcoritamab in three cohorts of patients with different types of relapsed/refractory B-NHLs who have limited therapeutic options. This cohort generated pivotal data from patients with FL and DLBCL. The optimization part evaluates the potential for alternative step-up dosing regimens to help further minimize Grade 2 cytokine release syndrome (CRS) and mitigate Grade ≥3 CRS. The primary endpoint of the expansion part was ORR as assessed by an IRC. Secondary efficacy endpoints included duration of response, complete response rate, duration of complete response, progression-free survival, and time to response as determined by the Lugano criteria. Overall survival, time to next therapy, and rate of minimal residual disease negativity were also evaluated as secondary efficacy endpoints. The primary endpoint of the optimization part was the rate of ≥ Grade 2 CRS events and all grade CRS events from first dose of epcoritamab through 7 days following administration of the second full dose of epcoritamab.
NCCN® Clinical Practice Guidelines
The National Comprehensive Cancer Network® (NCCN®) Clinical Practice Guidelines in Oncology (NCCN Guidelines®) for "B-Cell Lymphomas" were recently updated (Version 2.2024) to add EPKINLY as a Category 2A, preferred recommendation for third-line and subsequent therapy for patients with FL.
About EPKINLY® (epcoritamab-bysp):
EPKINLY is a prescription medicine used to treat adults with certain types of diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL), high-grade B-cell lymphoma, or follicular lymphoma (FL) that has come back or that did not respond to previous treatment after receiving 2 or more treatments. EPKINLY is approved based on patient response data. Studies are ongoing to confirm the clinical benefit of EPKINLY. It is not known if EPKINLY is safe and effective in children.
Epcoritamab is an IgG1-bispecific antibody created using Genmab's proprietary DuoBody® technology and administered subcutaneously. Genmab's DuoBody-CD3 technology is designed to direct cytotoxic T cells selectively to elicit an immune response toward target cell types. Epcoritamab is designed to simultaneously bind to CD3 on T cells and CD20 on B cells and induces T-cell-mediated killing of CD20+ cells.
About AbbVie:
AbbVie's mission is to discover and deliver innovative medicines and solutions that solve serious health issues today and address the medical challenges of tomorrow. We strive to have a remarkable impact on people's lives across several key therapeutic areas – immunology, oncology, neuroscience, and eye care – and products and services in our Allergan Aesthetics portfolio.
For more information please visit us at www.abbvie.com.
