June 23, 2020: “AbbVie announced that the U.S. FDA will review a supplemental New Drug Application for IMBRUVICA® (ibrutinib) in combination with rituximab for the treatment of Waldenström’s macroglobulinemia (WM), a rare and incurable type of non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma (NHL).
The application seeks to update the IMBRUVICA U.S. Prescribing Information based on analysis of more than five years of data from the Phase 3 iNNOVATE clinical trial.
IMBRUVICA was first approved as a single agent therapy for all lines of WM in 2015, becoming the first and only FDA-approved medicine for WM, administered orally.
In 2018, IMBRUVICA was also approved as the first chemotherapy-free combination treatment with rituximab.
Results from the long-term analysis of the Phase 3 iNNOVATE study will be presented at a future medical congress. As of today, IMBRUVICA is the only Bruton’s tyrosine kinase (BTK) inhibitor approved to treat WM.
“Since IMBRUVICA became the first FDA-approved medicine to treat people living with Waldenström’s macroglobulinemia more than five years ago, it has significantly changed the treatment landscape for this rare and incurable form of non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma,” said Danelle James, M.D., M.A.S., IMBRUVICA Global Development Lead, Pharmacyclics LLC, an AbbVie company.
“This latest submission reinforces how IMBRUVICA has provided an innovative treatment option for WM patients and our commitment to supporting this patient community.”
Related News: Johnson & Johnson and AbbVie Receives 11th FDA Approval for IMBRUVICA® (ibrutinib)
WM typically affects older adults and is primarily found in the bone marrow, although lymph nodes and the spleen may also be affected.
In the U.S., there are about 2,800 new cases of WM each year.1 As of May 2020, the National Comprehensive Cancer Network® (NCCN®), a not-for-profit alliance of 28 leading cancer centers devoted to patient care, research, and education, recommends ibrutinib (IMBRUVICA) with or without rituximab, as the preferred regimen for patients with WM, including Category 1, Preferred for Primary Therapy for WM.2
“We’ve made significant progress in the treatment of Waldenström’s macroglobulinemia, which until a couple years ago had limited treatment options including chemotherapy,” said Dr. Meletios A.
Dimopoulos, Professor and Chairman of the Department of Clinical Therapeutics, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens School of Medicine, Athens, Greece, and principal investigator.
“The iNNOVATE study continues to deliver strong clinical evidence supporting the long-term use of ibrutinib plus rituximab across first and second lines of therapy for patients with Waldenström’s macroglobulinemia.”
iNNOVATE
iNNOVATE (PCYC-1127) is a Pharmacyclics-sponsored, randomized, placebo-controlled, double-blind, Phase 3 study, which enrolled 150 patients with relapsed/refractory and treatment-naïve Waldenström’s macroglobulinemia.
Patients were randomized to receive intravenous rituximab 375 mg/m2 once weekly for four consecutive weeks, followed by a second four-weekly rituximab course following a three-month interval.
All patients received either ibrutinib 420 mg or placebo once daily continuously until criteria for treatment discontinuation were met.
The primary endpoint was progression-free survival, with secondary endpoints including overall response rate, hematological improvement measured by hemoglobin, time-to-next treatment, overall survival, and number of participants with adverse events as a measure of safety and tolerability within each treatment arm.
IMBRUVICA
IMBRUVICA is a once-daily, first-in-class BTK inhibitor that is administered orally, and is jointly developed and commercialized by Pharmacyclics, LLC, an AbbVie Company, and Janssen Biotech, Inc. (Janssen).
The BTK protein sends important signals that tell B cells to mature and produce antibodies. BTK signaling is needed by specific cancer cells to multiply and spread.
By blocking BTK, IMBRUVICA may help move abnormal B cells out of their nourishing environments in the lymph nodes, bone marrow, and other organs.
Since its launch in 2013, IMBRUVICA has received 11 FDA approvals across six disease areas: chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) with or without 17p deletion (del17p); small lymphocytic lymphoma (SLL) with or without del17p; WM; previously-treated patients with mantle cell lymphoma (MCL)*; previously-treated patients with marginal zone lymphoma (MZL) who require systemic therapy and have received at least one prior anti-CD20-based therapy* – and previously-treated patients with chronic graft-versus-host disease (cGVHD) after failure of one or more lines of systemic therapy.6
IMBRUVICA is now approved in 99 countries and has been used to treat nearly 200,000 patients worldwide across its approved indications.
IMBRUVICA is the only FDA-approved medicine in WM and cGVHD.
IMBRUVICA has been granted four Breakthrough Therapy Designations from the U.S. FDA.
This designation is intended to expedite the development and review of a potential new drug for serious or life-threatening diseases.
IMBRUVICA was one of the first medicines to receive FDA approval via the Breakthrough Therapy Designation pathway.
As of early 2019, the National Comprehensive Cancer Network® (NCCN®), a not-for-profit alliance of 28 leading cancer centers devoted to patient care, research, and education, recommends ibrutinib (IMBRUVICA) as a preferred regimen for the initial treatment of CLL/SLL and it is the only Category 1 treatment for treatment-naïve patients without deletion 17p.
In February 2020, the NCCN Guidelines® were updated to elevate IMBRUVICA with or without rituximab from other recommended regimens to a preferred regimen for the treatment of relapsed/refractory MCL.
IMBRUVICA is being studied alone and in combination with other treatments in several blood and solid tumor cancers and other serious illnesses. IMBRUVICA is the most comprehensively studied BTK inhibitor, with more than 150 ongoing clinical trials. There are approximately 30 ongoing company-sponsored trials, 14 of which are in Phase 3, and more than 100 investigator-sponsored trials and external collaborations that are active around the world. For more information, visit www.IMBRUVICA.com.
*Accelerated approval was granted for the MCL and MZL indications based on overall response rate. Continued approval for MCL and MZL may be contingent upon verification and description of clinical benefit in confirmatory trials.
Important Side Effect Information
Before taking IMBRUVICA®, tell your healthcare provider about all of your medical conditions, including if you:
- have had recent surgery or plan to have surgery. Your healthcare provider may stop IMBRUVICA® for any planned medical, surgical, or dental procedure.
- have bleeding problems.
- have or had heart rhythm problems, smoke, or have a medical condition that increases your risk of heart disease, such as high blood pressure, high cholesterol, or diabetes.
- have an infection.
- have liver problems.
- are pregnant or plan to become pregnant. IMBRUVICA® can harm your unborn baby. If you are able to become pregnant, your healthcare provider will do a pregnancy test before starting treatment with IMBRUVICA®. Tell your healthcare provider if you are pregnant or think you may be pregnant during treatment with IMBRUVICA®.
- Females who are able to become pregnant should use effective birth control (contraception) during treatment with IMBRUVICA® and for 1 month after the last dose.
- Males with female partners who are able to become pregnant should use effective birth control, such as condoms, during treatment with IMBRUVICA® and for 1 month after the last dose.
- are breastfeeding or plan to breastfeed. Do not breastfeed during treatment with IMBRUVICA® and for 1 week after the last dose.
Tell your healthcare provider about all the medicines you take, including prescription and over-the-counter medicines, vitamins, and herbal supplements. Taking IMBRUVICA® with certain other medicines may affect how IMBRUVICA® works and can cause side effects.
How should I take IMBRUVICA®?
- Take IMBRUVICA® exactly as your healthcare provider tells you to take it.
- Take IMBRUVICA® 1 time a day.
- Swallow IMBRUVICA® capsules or tablets whole with a glass of water.
- Do not open, break or chew IMBRUVICA® capsules.
- Do not cut, crush or chew IMBRUVICA® tablets.
- Take IMBRUVICA® at about the same time each day.
- If you miss a dose of IMBRUVICA® take it as soon as you remember on the same day. Take your next dose of IMBRUVICA® at your regular time on the next day. Do not take extra doses of IMBRUVICA® to make up for a missed dose.
- If you take too much IMBRUVICA® call your healthcare provider or go to the nearest hospital emergency room right away.
What should I avoid while taking IMBRUVICA®?
- You should not drink grapefruit juice, eat grapefruit, or eat Seville oranges (often used in marmalades) during treatment with IMBRUVICA®. These products may increase the amount of IMBRUVICA® in your blood.
What are the possible side effects of IMBRUVICA®?
IMBRUVICA® may cause serious side effects, including:
- Bleeding problems (hemorrhage) are common during treatment with IMBRUVICA®, and can also be serious and may lead to death. Your risk of bleeding may increase if you are also taking a blood thinner medicine. Tell your healthcare provider if you have any signs of bleeding, including: blood in your stools or black stools (looks like tar), pink or brown urine, unexpected bleeding, or bleeding that is severe or that you cannot control, vomit blood or vomit looks like coffee grounds, cough up blood or blood clots, increased bruising, dizziness, weakness, confusion, change in your speech, or a headache that lasts a long time or severe headache.
- Infections can happen during treatment with IMBRUVICA®. These infections can be serious and may lead to death. Tell your healthcare provider right away if you have fever, chills, weakness, confusion, or other signs or symptoms of an infection during treatment with IMBRUVICA®.
- Decrease in blood cell counts. Decreased blood counts (white blood cells, platelets, and red blood cells) are common with IMBRUVICA®, but can also be severe. Your healthcare provider should do monthly blood tests to check your blood counts.
- Heart rhythm problems (ventricular arrhythmias, atrial fibrillation and atrial flutter). Serious heart rhythm problems and death have happened in people treated with IMBRUVICA®, especially in people who have an increased risk for heart disease, have an infection, or who have had heart rhythm problems in the past. Tell your healthcare provider if you get any symptoms of heart rhythm problems, such as feeling as if your heart is beating fast and irregular, lightheadedness, dizziness, shortness of breath, chest discomfort, or you faint. If you develop any of these symptoms, your healthcare provider may do a test to check your heart (ECG) and may change your IMBRUVICA® dose.
- High blood pressure (hypertension). New or worsening high blood pressure has happened in people treated with IMBRUVICA®. Your healthcare provider may start you on blood pressure medicine or change current medicines to treat your blood pressure.
- Second primary cancers. New cancers have happened during treatment with IMBRUVICA®, including cancers of the skin or other organs.
- Tumor lysis syndrome (TLS). TLS is caused by the fast breakdown of cancer cells. TLS can cause kidney failure and the need for dialysis treatment, abnormal heart rhythm, seizure, and sometimes death. Your healthcare provider may do blood tests to check you for TLS.
The most common side effects of IMBRUVICA® in adults with B-cell malignancies (MCL, CLL/SLL, WM and MZL) include:
- diarrhea
- tiredness
- muscle and bone pain
- rash
- bruising
The most common side effects of IMBRUVICA® in adults with cGVHD include:
- tiredness
- bruising
- diarrhea
- mouth sores (stomatitis)
- muscle spasms
- nausea
- pneumonia
Diarrhea is a common side effect in people who take IMBRUVICA®. Drink plenty of fluids during treatment with IMBRUVICA® to help reduce your risk of losing too much fluid (dehydration) due to diarrhea. Tell your healthcare provider if you have diarrhea that does not go away.
These are not all the possible side effects of IMBRUVICA®. Call your doctor for medical advice about side effects. You may report side effects to FDA at 1-800-FDA-1088.”
