3-{6-{[1-(2,2-difluoro-1,3-benzodioxol-5-yl)cyclopropanecarbonyl]amino}-3-methylpyridin-2-yl}benzoic acid

26,FEB 2013

syn at  >>>>>>>https://newdrugapprovals.org/2013/07/28/3274/

Vertex Pharmaceuticals announced Tuesday night the design of two phase III studies for its combination therapy to treat the most common form of cystic fibrosis. The studies will each run for six months, so results could be ready as early as the end of 2013 or during first half of 2014.

The studies announced Tuesday will evaluate the two different doses of an experimental medicine VX-809 in combination with Kalydeco. Each study will enroll 500 cystic fibrosis patients randomized to either the VX-809/Kalydeco arms or a placebo for six months of treatment. The studies’ primary endpoint will be the relative improvement in lung function of VX-809/Kalydeco compared to placebo.

Last fall, Vertex presented data from a phase II study demonstrating that a 600 mg dose of VX-809 and Kalydeco worked synergistically to improve lung function in cystic fibrosis patients with the F508del mutation compared to placebo. This same dose combination will be tested in the phase III study along with a higher 800 mg (actually, 400 mg given twice a day) dose of VX-809 plus Kalydeco.

Vertex also announced new data from this phase II study on Tuesday night showing similar lung function improvements between the 800 mg and 600 mg doses of VX-809. For this reason, the higher dose was included in the phase III studies.

Along with the two phase III studies in adult patients, Vertex will also conduct a six-month study of the combination therapy in pediatric patients ages 6 to 11. This study, along with the data from the adult studies, may be used to expand the combination therapy’s approval into younger patients.

In January, FDA anointed Kalydeco and VX-809 with Breakthrough Therapy Designation as part of the agency’s efforts to accelerate the development and approval of drugs for serious and life-threatening disease. Vertex did not say whether Breakthrough Designation played a specific role in the VX-809/Kalydeco phase III program but the relatively short six-month duration of the studies plus the ability to test the combination in children at the same time does accelerate the development of the combination therapy. If the data from the studies are positive, the drugs could be approved sooner than expected and for more patients.

Lumacaftor (USAN, codenamed VX-809) is an experimental drug for the treatment of cystic fibrosis, being developed by Vertex Pharmaceuticals. The drug is designed to be effective in patients that have the F508del mutation in the cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator (CFTR), the defective protein that causes the disease. F508del, meaning that the amino acid phenylalanine in position 508 is missing, is found in about 60% of cystic fibrosis patients.^[1]

Interim results from a Phase II clinical trial indicate that patients with the most common form of genetic mutation causing cystic fibrosis homozygous F508del had an 8.5% increase in lung function (FEV1) after 56 days on a combination of lumacaftor and ivacaftor (Kalydeco).^[2]

1. Merk; Schubert-Zsilavecz. (in German)Pharmazeutische Zeitung 156 (37): 24–27.
2. Vertex Pharmaceuticals. May 29,2012.

1. syn at  >>>>>>>https://newdrugapprovals.org/2013/07/28/3274/
3. syn at  >>>>>>>https://newdrugapprovals.org/2013/07/28/3274/