Photo by Piotr Bodzek
Team performing surgery
The European Medicines Agency’s Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use (CHMP) has recommended approval for lusutrombopag to treat severe thrombocytopenia in adults with chronic liver disease who are undergoing invasive procedures.
Lusutrombopag is a thrombopoietin (TPO) receptor agonist that acts on the transmembrane domain of TPO receptors to induce proliferation and differentiation of megakaryocyte progenitor cells, thus leading to thrombocytopoiesis.
Lusutrombopag is intended to reduce the need for platelet transfusions before an invasive procedure and for rescue therapy for bleeding in the 7 days after the procedure.
The CHMP’s recommendation for lusutrombopag will be reviewed by the European Commission, which has the authority to approve medicines for use in the European Union, Norway, Iceland, and Liechtenstein.
The European Commission usually makes a decision within 67 days of a CHMP recommendation.
Lusutrombopag trials
The efficacy of lusutrombopag was evaluated in two phase 3 trials—L-PLUS1 (1304M0631) and L-PLUS2 (1423M0634, NCT02389621).
The trials included 312 patients with chronic liver disease, severe thrombocytopenia (platelet counts below 50,000/μL), and a scheduled invasive procedure. The patients received lusutrombopag or placebo once daily for up to 7 days.
In L-PLUS1, 78% (38/49) of patients receiving lusutrombopag did not require platelet transfusions prior to the primary invasive procedure. The same was true for 13% (6/48) of patients who received placebo (P<0.0001).
In L-PLUS2 , 65% (70/108) of patients who received lusutrombopag did not require platelet transfusions prior to the primary invasive procedure or rescue therapy for bleeding in the 7 days after the procedure. The same was true for 29% (31/107) of patients receiving placebo (P<0.0001).
The safety of lusutrombopag was evaluated in three trials—L‐PLUS 1, L‐PLUS 2, and M0626 (1208M062).
The most common adverse event (AE) in these trials (n=341) was headache, which occurred in 5% of patients on lusutrombopag and 4% of patients on placebo.
Serious AEs occurred in 5% of patients on lusutrombopag and 7% of patients on placebo. The most common serious AE was portal vein thrombosis, which occurred in 1% of patients in both treatment groups.
None of the patients discontinued lusutrombopag due to AEs.
The trials were sponsored by Shionogi & Co., Ltd.