Xuriden (uridine triacetate) now approved for patients with hereditary orotic aciduria

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved Xuriden (uridine triacetate), the first FDA-approved treatment for patients with hereditary orotic aciduria. Hereditary orotic aciduria is a rare metabolic disorder, which has been reported in approximately 20 patients worldwide.

Hereditary orotic aciduria is inherited from a recessive gene. The disease is due to a defective or deficient enzyme, which results in the body being unable to normally synthesize uridine, a necessary component of ribonucleic acid (RNA). Signs and symptoms of the disease include blood abnormalities (anemia, decreased white blood cell count, decreased neutrophil count), urinary tract obstruction due to the formation of orotic acid crystals in the urinary tract, failure to thrive, and developmental delays.

"Today's approval and rare pediatric disease priority review voucher underscore the FDA's commitment to making treatments available to patients with rare diseases," said Amy G. Egan, M.D., M.P.H., deputy director of the Office of Drug Evaluation III in the FDA's Center for Drug Evaluation and Research (CDER). "Prior to Xuriden's approval, patients with this rare disorder had no approved treatment options."

The FDA granted Xuriden orphan drug designation because it treats a rare disease. Orphan drug designation provides financial incentives, like clinical trial tax credits, user fee waivers, and eligibility for market exclusivity to promote rare disease drug development. Xuriden was also granted priority review. An FDA priority review provides for an expedited review of drugs for serious diseases or conditions that may offer major advances in treatment. The manufacturer of Xuriden was granted a rare pediatric disease priority review voucher – a provision that encourages development of new drugs and biologics for the prevention and treatment of rare pediatric diseases.

Xuriden is an orally administered product intended to replace uridine. Xuriden is approved as oral granules that can be mixed with food or in milk or infant formula, and is administered once daily.

The safety and effectiveness of Xuriden were evaluated in a single arm, six-week, open-label trial in four patients with hereditary orotic aciduria, ranging in age from three to 19 years of age, and in a six-month extension phase of the trial. The study assessed changes in the patients' pre-specified hematologic parameters during the trial period. At both the six-week and six-month assessments, Xuriden treatment resulted in stability of the hematologic parameters in all four clinical trial patients. The safety and effectiveness of uridine replacement therapy were further supported by case reports from the published literature.

Xuriden (uridine triacetate) now approved for patients with hereditary orotic aciduria

Everolimus, 177Lu-dotatate extend neuroendocrine tumour PFS

 

Positive progression-free survival (PFS) results from the RADIANT-4 and NETTER-1 trials extend the armamentarium for physicians treating patients with neuroendocrine tumours (NETs).

The studies, indicating efficacy for the mTOR inhibitor everolimus and the peptide receptor radionuclide therapy lutetium (Lu)177-dotatate, respectively, were presented at the European Cancer Congress held in Vienna, Austria.

The primary endpoint of PFS in the RADIANT-4 trial, as determined by central radiological review, was 11.0 months in the 205 patients with non-functional NETs of the gastrointestinal tract or lung who were randomly assigned to receive everolimus 10 mg/day compared with 3.9 months in the 97 patients given placebo, with a significant hazard ratio (HR) of 0.48.

The “robust benefit” was confirmed by investigator assessment, with PFS of 14.0 months versus 5.5 months in the everolimus and placebo groups, and a significant HR of 0.39.

The first planned interim overall survival analysis showed a 36% reduction in the risk of death in favour of everolimus and, although this was not statistically significant, the researchers believe that analysis of mature data in 2016 may show a significant result.

“Although we knew from previous studies that everolimus could delay the growth of pancreatic NETs, this is the first time we have been able to conclusively show that it is effective in other NET sites”, said James Yao, from the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, USA, and RADIANT-4 co-investigators in a press release.

Everolimus, 177Lu-dotatate extend neuroendocrine tumour PFS

2-year advanced melanoma survival benefit with dabrafenib, trametinib combination

Updated results from the COMBI-v trial show significantly improved overall and progression-free survival (OS, PFS) with first-line dabrafenib plus trametinib compared with vemurafenib in patients with advanced melanoma.

The findings of the phase III trial comprising patients with BRAF V600E/K mutation-positive unresectable or metastatic melanoma were presented at the European Cancer Congress in Vienna, Austria, by Caroline Robert, from the Institut Gustave Roussy in Paris, France.

A previous interim analysis with a median follow-up of 11 months showed a significant improvement in OS with dabrafenib and trametinib, explained Robert in her presentation, so much so that the trial was terminated early and patients in the vemurafenib group were allowed to crossover.

In this most recent analysis, the 352 patients randomly assigned to receive the BRAF inhibitor dabrafenib plus the MEK inhibitor trametinib had a median OS of 25.6 months. This was not only significantly longer than the 18.0 months observed for the 352 participants given the BRAF inhibitor vemurafenib, but also the “longest ever reached” in a randomised phase III trial in this patient population, said Robert.

And after a median follow-up of 19 months, the 2-year survival rate was significantly higher for the dabrafenib plus trametinib group than for the vemurafenib group, at 51% versus 38%.

Median PFS was also significantly longer, with corresponding times of 12.6 and 7.3 months, and overall response rate and duration of response were similarly improved in the dual therapy compared with the monotherapy arm, at 66% versus 53% and 13.8 versus 8.5 months, respectively.

The incidence of all-grade adverse events continued to be high during the additional follow-up period, with pyrexia (55%) most common in the combination group and arthralgia (52%) in the vemurafenib group, but Robert said this was not surprising.

2-year advanced melanoma survival benefit with dabrafenib, trametinib combination

Neurocrine Biosciences announces positive data from NBI-98854 Phase III trial in tardive dyskinesia

Neurocrine Biosciences, Inc. announced that NBI-98854, a highly selective small molecule VMAT2 inhibitor, showed a statistically significant reduction in tardive dyskinesia during the six weeks of placebo-controlled treatment in the Kinect 3 clinical trial. This Phase III trial included moderate to severe tardive dyskinesia patients with underlying schizophrenia, schizoaffective disorder, bipolar or major depressive disorder.

The pre-specified primary efficacy endpoint was the change-from-baseline in the Abnormal Involuntary Movement Scale (AIMS) at Week 6 in the 80mg once-daily dosing group compared to placebo as assessed by central blinded video raters. The AIMS ratings at Week 6 for the 80mg once-daily NBI-98854 intention-to-treat (ITT) population was reduced 3.1 points (Least-Squares Mean) more than placebo (p<0.0001).

"We are very pleased with the outstanding efficacy and side effect profile demonstrated by NBI-98854 in the Kinect 3 study. The efficacy data from this pivotal Phase III study completes our placebo-controlled dataset for NBI-98854 in tardive dyskinesia," said Kevin C. Gorman, President and Chief Executive Officer of Neurocrine. "We will now turn our focus to completing the open-label safety portion of the studies in tardive dyskinesia patients and compiling the data for both doses of NBI-98854 to be included in the New Drug Application we intend to file with the FDA in 2016."

"The results of this Kinect 3 study demonstrate the potential of NBI-98854 to be a safe and effective treatment for patients suffering from the debilitating effects of tardive dyskinesia and we look forward to sharing additional details of this important study at upcoming scientific meetings starting in mid-2016," said Christopher F. O'Brien, Chief Medical Officer of Neurocrine. "We want to thank the trial participants and investigators who contributed to this successful placebo-controlled portion of the Kinect 3 study and we look forward to continuing our work with them in the open-label safety assessment of NBI-98854 in patients suffering from tardive dyskinesia, as well as completing the initial Tourette syndrome study later this year."

Neurocrine Biosciences announces positive data from NBI-98854 Phase III trial in tardive dyskinesia

AcelRx Pharmaceuticals, Inc : Sufentanil

AcelRx Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (Nasdaq: ACRX), a specialty pharmaceutical company focused on the development and commercialization of innovative therapies for the treatment of acute pain, today provided a regulatory update on Zalviso™ (sufentanil sublingual tablet system) intended for the management of moderate-to-severe acute pain in adult patients in the hospital setting. The company has received formal minutes of the telephonic meeting held in early September 2015, with the Division of Anesthesia, Analgesia, and Addiction Products of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). As reflected in the minutes, the Division restated at the meeting a request for clinical data to complement other data AcelRx has developed to assess the overall performance of the Zalviso device.

The company is planning to submit a protocol to the Division for a clinical study in post-operative patients designed to evaluate the effectiveness of changes made to enhance product performance. AcelRx expects to be ready to initiate the study in the first quarter of 2016, and likely will await comments on the protocol from the Division. The company will be prepared to work with the FDA to facilitate the timely study initiation.

"We have been preparing a clinical study to investigate the use of Zalviso in a more diverse post-surgical population than in our original Phase 3 studies," stated Pamela P. Palmer, MD, PhD, chief medical officer of AcelRx, "so we are modifying the design of this study to include endpoints that we believe will address the Division's concerns."

AcelRx Pharmaceuticals, Inc : Sufentanil

FDA grants Breakthrough Therapy Designation to Lilly's abemaciclib for treatment of metastatic breast cancer

Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE: LLY)   announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has granted Breakthrough Therapy Designation to abemaciclib, a cyclin-dependent kinase (CDK) 4 and 6 inhibitor, for patients with refractory hormone-receptor-positive (HR+) advanced or metastatic breast cancer. This designation is based on data from the breast cancer cohort expansion of the company's Phase I trial, JPBA, which studied the efficacy and safety of abemaciclib in women with advanced or metastatic breast cancer. Patients in this cohort had received a median of seven prior systemic treatments. These data were presented at the San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium in 2014.

According to the FDA, Breakthrough Therapy Designation is a process designed to expedite the development and review of drugs that are intended to treat a serious condition, and preliminary clinical evidence indicates that the drug may demonstrate substantial improvement over available therapy on a clinically significant endpoint.

FDA grants Breakthrough Therapy Designation to Lilly's abemaciclib for treatment of metastatic breast cancer

New drug may prevent malaria in pregnant women

Researchers at LSTM, working with colleagues of the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in Kenya and USA, and from the Kenya Medical Research Institution have found that a new drug may be more effective at preventing malaria in pregnant woman, especially where there is resistance to the current treatments.

LSTM's Professor Feiko ter Kuile, who heads the Malaria in Pregnancy (MiP) Consortium, was senior author on the study which has been published today in the journal The Lancet. The study evaluated the efficacy and safety of two alternative strategies in comparison to the standard treatment recommended for the prevention of malaria in 1546 HIV-negative pregnant women in western Kenya.

Malaria infection during pregnancy is a significant health problem to both the mother and the unborn child. It has been associated with chronic anaemia in the mother, and with loss of the pregnancy due to miscarriages or stillbirths and with low birth weight in pregnancies that result in livebirths, which in turn results in an increased risk of infant death. The World Health Organization (WHO) currently recommends that women in areas of stable malaria transmission receive intermittent preventative treatment in pregnancy (IPTp) with the antimalarial drug sulfadoxine-pyrimethamine (SP). Sulfadoxine-pyrimethamine is currently the only antimalarial drug that is recommended by WHO for this IPTp strategy, however high levels of resistance from the malaria parasite to this drug threatens its efficacy.

New drug may prevent malaria in pregnant women

Two studies identify promising new anti-retroviral strategy to combat HIV-1

A pair of studies by researchers at the University of Massachusetts Medical School, the University of Trento in Italy, and the University of Geneva in Switzerland, point to a promising new anti-retroviral strategy for combating HIV-1. The two studies, published online in Nature, show that the host cell membrane proteins SERINC5 and SERINC3 greatly reduce the virulence of HIV-1 by blocking the ability of the virus to infect new cells. HIV-1 encodes a protein called Nef that counteracts the SERINCs. New drugs that target the HIV-1 protein Nef would permit the SERINC proteins to inactivate the virus. The papers will appear in the October 8 issue of Nature.

"It's amazing, the magnitude of the effect that these proteins have on infectivity," said Jeremy Luban, MD, the David J. Freelander Professor in AIDS Research and professor of molecular medicine at UMass Medical School. "The SERINC proteins reduce the infectivity of HIV-1 virions by more than 100-fold."

Heinrich Gottlinger, professor of molecular, cell and cancer biology at UMass Medical School said, "The ability of HIV to inhibit these SERINC proteins has a profound impact on its capacity to infect other cells. Disrupting this mechanism could be a very powerful strategy for treating HIV and similar viruses that express the Nef protein."

The two studies, each done independently, used completely different, yet complementary, methodologies to unravel the complex interaction between the HIV-1 protein Nef and the cell surface membrane proteins SERINC5 and SERINC3, both of which are expressed in the immune system's T cells. Dr. Luban, working with former members of his lab, Massimo Pizzato, PhD, now of the University of Trento in Italy, and Federico Santoni of the University of Geneva in Switzerland, performed massively parallel sequencing on 31 human cell lines that differed in terms of the magnitude of dependence on Nef for HIV-1 replication. Independently, Dr. Gottlinger approached the problem biochemically. Conducting proteomic analysis of purified virions, he was able to identify host cell proteins that Nef regulated.

Two studies identify promising new anti-retroviral strategy to combat HIV-1

Two studies identify promising new anti-retroviral strategy to combat HIV-1

Experimental drug shows promise in mice with multiple sclerosis

An experimental drug originally identified in a National Cancer Institute library of chemical compounds as a potential therapy for brain and basal cell cancers improves the symptoms of mice with a form of the debilitating neurological disorder multiple sclerosis (MS), according to new research from NYU Langone Medical Center.

The experimental drug employed by the NYU Langone team of neuroscientists is called GANT61. It blocks the action of a key protein, Gli1, which is involved in so-called sonic hedgehog signaling, a biological pathway closely tied to neural stem cell development and the growth of some cancers, and whose signaling is raised in tissue samples taken from brain lesions in patients with MS.

A report describing the findings is being published in the journal Nature online Sept. 30.

In the study, mice with chemically damaged brain myelin were given daily doses of GANT61 for one month. Results showed that mice that received the drug had 50 percent more myelin at the end of treatment than did untreated mice. Myelin is the nerve-protecting sheath whose degradation is a principal cause of MS.

Experimental drug shows promise in mice with multiple sclerosis

Tris Pharma announces launch of generic TUSSIONEX

Tris Pharma, a specialty pharmaceutical company that develops innovative drug delivery technologies, announced the launch of Tris-labeled generic TUSSIONEX®, an extended-release suspension containing hydrocodone polistirex and chlorpheniramine polistirex.

Tussionex®, originally approved in the early 1980's, had no generic competition until 2010 when Tris Pharma's generic product entered the market under an exclusive distribution agreement with Par Pharmaceuticals. Under the terms of the distribution agreement, Par had the exclusive right to market Tris Pharma's hydrocodone polistirex and chlorpheniramine polistirex ER oral suspension for a five year period ending September 30, 2015. With the conclusion of the five year term, the rights have reverted back to Tris and as of October 1, 2015, hydrocodone polistirex and chlorpheniramine polistirex ER Suspension in 115ml and 473 ml bottles (compare to Tussionex®) will be marketed and distributed by Tris Pharma's generic business.

Tris Pharma announces launch of generic TUSSIONEX

Beta-catenin shows treatment target potential for TKI-resistant CML

Nuclear β-catenin could be a treatment target for patients whose chronic myeloid leukaemia (CML) is resistant to tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs) independent of additional BCR–BL1 mutations, US researchers suggest.

“Collectively, our data implicate nuclear β-catenin in intrinsic BCR-ABL1 kinase-independent TKI resistance, but argue against a direct role for β-catenin in BM [bone marrow]-mediated (extrinsic) TKI resistance”, write Michael Deininger, from the University of Utah in Salt Lake City, and co-investigators.

However, writing in Leukemia, they add “the caveat that even primary CML cells cultured ex vivo on primary MSCs [mesenchymal stromal cells] may not fully recapitulate persistent leukemia cells in patients on long-term imatinib therapy, including heterogeneity across patients.”

The team demonstrated that imatinib therapy reduced β-catenin levels in TKI-sensitive cell lines but had no impact on β-catenin in cells lines with either intrinsic or extrinsic BCR-ABL1 kinase-independent TKI resistance, indicating that “imatinib-resistant cells have uncoupled β-catenin expression from BCR-ABL1 activity.”

Beta-catenin shows treatment target potential for TKI-resistant CML

AbbVie reports positive results from ABT-494 Phase 2 clinical trials in patients with rheumatoid arthritis

AbbVie (NYSE: ABBV), a global biopharmaceutical company, today announced results from two Phase 2 clinical trials evaluating its investigational selective JAK1 inhibitor, ABT-494, in patients with inadequate response to either methotrexate or TNF inhibitors. The clinical trials, BALANCE-I and BALANCE-II, achieved ACR20 at week 12 across all dose levels, except the lowest dose in BALANCE-II. BALANCE-I and BALANCE-II evaluated patients with moderate to severe rheumatoid arthritis with inadequate responses to prior anti-TNF (TNF-IR) or methotrexate (MTX-IR) treatment, respectively.

"We believe ABT-494 has the potential to become a best-in-class therapy, particularly in the most challenging patient population of TNF-inadequate responders," said Michael Severino, M.D., executive vice president, research and development and chief scientific officer, AbbVie. "We are encouraged by the results of our Phase 2 studies and we will advance ABT-494 to Phase 3 studies with a once-daily formulation."

AbbVie reports positive results from ABT-494 Phase 2 clinical trials in patients with rheumatoid arthritis

Novo Nordisk announces FDA approval of Tresiba (insulin degludec injection) for diabetes treatment

Novo Nordisk, a world leader in diabetes care, today announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved the new drug application for Tresiba® (insulin degludec injection), a once-daily, long-acting basal insulin. Tresiba® is indicated for use alone, or in combination with oral antidiabetic medicines or bolus insulin, and is approved for glycemic control in adults with type 1 and type 2 diabetes. Tresiba® provides a long duration of action beyond 42 hours. While patients are encouraged to take their insulin at the same time each day, Tresiba® allows patients to dose at any time of the day.

"Since 1923, Novo Nordisk has been committed to advancing insulin therapy for patients with diabetes, and we are proud to bring forward the first new basal insulin molecule to be approved by the FDA in 10 years," said Jesper Høiland, president of Novo Nordisk in the U.S. and executive vice president of Novo Nordisk A/S. "Novo Nordisk is excited to launch Tresiba® in the United States in the first quarter of 2016."

Ref : http://www.diapedia.org/management/insulin-degludec 

Novo Nordisk announces FDA approval of Tresiba (insulin degludec injection) for diabetes treatment

Allergan releases generic INVEGA (paliperidone extended-release tablets) in the U.S.

In continuation oof my update on paliperidone

Allergan plc (NYSE: AGN), a leading global pharmaceutical company, today announced that it has launched a generic version of Janssen's INVEGA® (paliperidone extended-release tablets) in the U.S. Allergan is the first company to receive FDA approval for and launch a generic version of INVEGA®, demonstrating the deep expertise of the Company's global generics R&D, regulatory and supply chain teams.

"This launch reinforces Allergan's commitment to developing, manufacturing and bringing to market high-quality, affordable versions of challenging products like INVEGA®, benefiting patients and reducing healthcare costs," said Robert Stewart, Allergan's Executive Vice President & President, Generics and Global Operations.

INVEGA® extended-release tablets are indicated for the treatment of schizophrenia in adults and adolescents (12-17 years of age).

For the 12 months ended July 31, 2015, INVEGA® had total U.S. brand sales of approximately $612 million, according to IMS Health data.

Allergan releases generic INVEGA (paliperidone extended-release tablets) in the U.S.

TUM scientists develop molecules that could pave way for new treatments to fight Alzheimer's, diabetes

When proteins change their structure and clump together, formation of amyloid fibrils and plaques may occur. Such 'misfolding' and 'protein aggregation' processes damage cells and cause diseases such as Alzheimer's and type 2 diabetes. A team of scientists from the Technical University of Munich (TUM) headed by Professor Aphrodite Kapurniotu have now developed molecules that suppress protein aggregation and could pave the way for new treatments to combat Alzheimer's, type 2 diabetes and other cell-degenerative diseases.

The scientists designed and studied 16 different peptide molecules in order to find out which of them are able to impede the 'clumping' of the proteins amyloid beta (Aß) and islet amyloid polypeptide (IAPP), which are associated with Alzheimer's and type 2 diabetes.

The molecules were designed on the basis of scientific work that shows that the Aß and IAPP proteins interact with each other, and that this 'cross-amyloid interaction' suppresses their clumping. The researchers selected short sequences of the IAPP protein that correspond to the key regions involved in the interaction with the Alzheimer's protein. These "hot segments" were then chemically linked to each other by using specific peptide segments as 'linkers' in order to mimic and optimize the IAPP cross-amyloid interaction surface.

Ref : http://www.tum.de/en/about-tum/news/press-releases/short/article/32611/

TUM scientists develop molecules that could pave way for new treatments to fight Alzheimer's, diabetes