ARIAD Announces Accelerated Approval by FDA of Iclusig (Ponatinib) for Patients with CML and Ph+ ALL Resistant or Intolerant to Prior Tyrosine Kinase Inhibitor Therapy
“For patients with CML and Philadelphia-positive ALL who become resistant or intolerant to TKI treatments, the approval of Iclusig is very positive news,” said Rosalie Canosa, program division director at CancerCare. “The addition of Iclusig to the arsenal of anti-leukemia medicines is a significant development and one that offers hope for patients coping with CML and Philadelphia-positive ALL.”
The FDA approval of Iclusig was based on results from the pivotal Phase 2 PACE (Ponatinib Ph+ ALL and CML eva luation) trial in patients with CML or Ph+ ALL who were resistant or intolerant to prior TKI therapy, or who had the T315I mutation of BCR-ABL. Iclusig had robust anti-leukemic activity, with 54 percent of chronic-phase CML patients, including 70 percent of patients with the T315I mutation, achieving a major cytogenetic response (MCyR) – the primary endpoint of the PACE trial for chronic-phase patients.
In patients with advanced disease, 52 percent of accelerated-phase CML patients, 31 percent of blast-phase CML patients and 41 percent of Ph+ ALL patients achieved a major hematologic response (MaHR) to Iclusig. MaHR was the primary endpoint in the trial for patients with advanced disease.
About Iclusig (ponatinib)
Iclusig is a kinase inhibitor. The primary target for Iclusig is BCR-ABL, an abnormal tyrosine kinase that is expressed in chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) and Philadelphia-chromosome positive acute lymphoblastic leukemia (Ph+ ALL). Iclusig was designed using ARIAD’s computational and structure-based drug design platform specifically to inhibit the activity of BCR-ABL. Iclusig targets not only native BCR-ABL but also its isoforms that carry mutations that confer resistance to treatment, including the T315I mutation, which is the most common mutation among resistant patients. Iclusig is the only TKI that is effective in CML and Ph+ ALL patients with this mutation.
Please see important safety information below, and the full prescribing information for Iclusig at www.ariad.com or www.iclusig.com.
Indication, Usage and Dosing
Iclusig is indicated for the treatment of adult patients with chronic phase, accelerated phase, or blast phase chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) that is resistant or intolerant to prior tyrosine kinase inhibitor (TKI) therapy or Philadelphia chromosome-positive acute lymphoblastic leukemia (Ph+ ALL) that is resistant or intolerant to prior TKI therapy.
This indication is based upon response rate. There are no trials verifying an improvement in disease-related symptoms or increased survival with Iclusig.
The recommended dose of Iclusig is a 45 mg tablet taken once-daily with or without food.
Important Safety Information
Cardiovascular, cerebrovascular, and peripheral vascular thrombosis, including fatal myocardial infarction and stroke have occurred in Iclusig-treated patients. Serious arterial thrombosis occurred in 8% of Iclusig-treated patients. Interrupt and consider discontinua