Pfizer’s Adcetris Drug Succeeds In Late-Stage Blood Cancer Trials

(CTN News) – In a late-stage study, Pfizer confirmed Tuesday that a combination treatment using its drug, Adcetris, extended survival in patients with a type of blood cancer.

ECHELON-3 demonstrated that ADCETRIS was both safe and tolerable for patients with relapsed/refractory DLBCL treated with ADCETRIS in clinical trials. A medical meeting will be held to present the full data.

In this Phase 3 study, a combination of ADCETRIS and a type of lymphoma is demonstrated to be associated with an improved overall survival rate. We are excited to learn that ADCETRIS could address a high unmet need in patients with relapsed or refractory DLBCL regardless of CD30 expression,” said Roger Dansey, M.D., Chief Development Officer, Oncology, Pfizer.

The results of this study are particularly encouraging because the study evaluated patients who had previously received CAR-T therapy.

DLBCL is the most common type of lymphoma and is characterized by rapid growth and aggressiveness. Approximately 40% of patients with DLBCL do not respond to their initial treatment or develop relapses after receiving first-line treatment.

As of 2011, ADCETRIS is approved in the U.S. for seven indications, with over 55,000 patients treated. ADCETRIS has been used by more than 140,000 patients globally. A company plans to share the ECHELON-3 data with the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in order to support potential regulatory filings.

A brief description of ECHELON-3

A DCETRIS plus lenalidomide and rituximab is being evaluated in Phase 3 of ECHELON-3 in adult patients with relapsed/refractory DLBCL, regardless of CD30 expression, who have received two or more prior treatments and are ineligible for stem cell transplantation or CAR-T therapy, regardless of CD30 expression. This study randomized 230 patients across North America, Europe, and Asia-Pacific. In the intent to treat population, the primary endpoint is OS, and the secondary endpoints are PFS and ORR according to the investigator’s assessment. Secondary endpoints may include complete response rate, duration of response, safety, and tolerability.

Diffuse large B-cell lymphoma information

One of the most common types of lymphoma, diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) is an aggressive, challenging disease to treat1. More than 25,000 cases of DLBCL are diagnosed in the United States each year, accounting for more than 25 percent of lymphomas.

There are different causes of DLBCL, such as spontaneous development, chronic lymphocytic lymphomas, small lymphocytic lymphomas, follicular lymphomas, and marginal zone lymphomas3. Up to 40 percent of patients relapse or have refractory disease even after receiving first-line treatment.

This is what ADCETRIS is all about

ADCETRIS is an antibody-drug conjugate (ADC) comprised of a CD30-directed monoclonal antibody attached by a protease-cleavable linker to monomethyl auristatin E (MMAE), the microtubule disrupting agent, based on Seagen’s proprietary technology.

ADCs use a linker system designed to stay stable in the bloodstream while releasing MMAE upon internalization into tumor cells positive for CD30.

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