Micrograph showing WM
The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has granted fast track designation to zanubrutinib for the treatment of Waldenström’s macroglobulinemia (WM).
Zanubrutinib (BGB-3111) is a BTK inhibitor being developed by BeiGene to treat various B-cell malignancies.
BeiGene is preparing to submit to the FDA, in the first half of 2019, a new drug application seeking accelerated approval of zanubrutinib for patients with WM.
The application will be supported by results from a phase 1 study. Results from this trial were presented at the 14th International Conference on Malignant Lymphoma (14-ICML) last year.
Researchers are also evaluating zanubrutinib in phase 2 (NCT03332173) and phase 3 (NCT03053440) trials of WM patients. In the phase 3 trial, researchers are comparing zanubrutinib to the BTK inhibitor ibrutinib.
Phase 1 results
As of March 31, 2017, 48 WM patients were enrolled in the phase 1 study. Thirty-eight patients had relapsed/refractory disease, and 10 patients were treatment-naïve.
There was a dose-escalation phase and a dose-expansion phase. The dose-expansion phase included doses of 160 mg twice a day or 320 mg once a day.
The most common (>10%) adverse events, (AEs) of any attribution were petechiae/purpura/contusion (35%), upper respiratory tract infection (31%), constipation (25%), diarrhea (19%), epistaxis (19%), nausea (17%), cough (15%), anemia (15%), headache (15%), neutropenia (13%), and rash (13%).
Most of these events were grade 1 or 2 in severity. The exceptions were grade 3/4 anemia and neutropenia (8% each) as well as grade 3/4 diarrhea and headache (2% each).
Five serious AEs were considered possibly related to zanubrutinib—1 case each of hemothorax, atrial fibrillation, colitis, febrile neutropenia, and headache. Three AEs led to treatment discontinuation—1 case each of bronchiectasis, prostate adenocarcinoma, and adenocarcinoma of pylorus.
At the time of the data cutoff, 42 patients were evaluable for response. At a median follow-up of 12.3 months (range, 4.4 to 30.5 months), the overall response rate was 90% (38/42).
The major response rate was 76% (32/42), with very good partial responses in 43% (18/42) of patients and partial responses in 33% (14/42) of patients. There were no complete responses and 2 cases of disease progression.
About fast track designation
The FDA’s fast track development program is designed to expedite clinical development and submission of applications for products with the potential to treat serious or life-threatening conditions and address unmet medical needs.
Fast track designation facilitates frequent interactions with the FDA review team, including meetings to discuss the product’s development plan and written communications about issues such as trial design and use of biomarkers.
Products that receive fast track designation may be eligible for accelerated approval and priority review if relevant criteria are met. Such products may also be eligible for rolling review, which allows a developer to submit individual sections of a product’s application for review as they are ready, rather than waiting until all sections are complete.