The RNA interference (RNAi) therapeutic patisiran (Onpattro, Alnylam Pharmaceuticals) led to statistically significant improvement in functional capacity and quality of life in adults with transthyretin-mediated (ATTR) amyloidosis with cardiomyopathy in the phase 3 APOLLO-B study, according to topline results released Aug. 3.
“We are thrilled that APOLLO-B successfully met all its major objectives, which we believe for the first time validates the hypothesis that TTR silencing by an RNAi therapeutic can be an effective approach for treating the cardiomyopathy of ATTR amyloidosis,” Pushkal Garg, MD, Alnylam chief medical officer, said in a news release.
The Food and Drug Administration approved patisiran in 2018 for polyneuropathy caused by hereditary ATTR in adults on the basis of results of the APOLLO phase 3 trial, as reported by this news organization.
APOLLO-B enrolled 360 adults with ATTR amyloidosis (hereditary or wild-type) with cardiomyopathy at 69 centers in 21 countries. Half were randomly allocated to 0.3 mg/kg of patisiran or placebo administered intravenously every 3 weeks for 12 months.
The study met the primary endpoint of a statistically significant improvement from baseline in the 6-minute walk test at 12 months compared with placebo (P = .0162), the company said.
The study also met the first secondary endpoint of a statistically significant improvement from baseline in quality of life compared with placebo, as measured by the Kansas City Cardiomyopathy Questionnaire (P = .0397).
The patisiran and placebo groups had similar frequencies of adverse events (91% and 94%, respectively) and serious adverse events (34% and 35%, respectively).
“ATTR amyloidosis with cardiomyopathy is an increasingly recognized cause of heart failure, affecting greater than 250,000 patients around the world. These patients have limited treatment options, and disease progression is common. As such, we are encouraged to see the potential of patisiran to improve the functional capacity and quality of life of patients living with this fatal, multisystem disease,” Dr. Garg said in the release.
Full results from APOLLO-B will be presented at a late-breaker session at the 18th International Symposium on Amyloidosis in September in Heidelberg, Germany.
Based on these results, the company plans to file a supplementary new drug application (sNDA) for patisiran for this indication with the FDA later this year, the release noted.
A version of this article first appeared on Medscape.com.