The Food and Drug Administration has granted accelerated approval to Polivy (polatuzumab vedotin-piiq), in conjunction with bendamustine and a rituximab product, for the treatment of adult patients with relapsed or refractory diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) who have undergone at least two prior therapies.
The FDA approval is based on results of an open-label, multicenter clinical trial of 80 patients with DLBCL who had undergone at least one prior regimen. Patients received either Polivy plus bendamustine and rituximab or only bendamustine and rituximab for six 21-day cycles. At the completion of therapy, 40% of patients who received Polivy in conjunction with bendamustine and rituximab achieved a complete response, compared with 18% of patients who received only bendamustine and rituximab; total response was 63% in those who received Polivy and 25% in those who did not.
The most common adverse events included neutropenia, thrombocytopenia, anemia, peripheral neuropathy, fatigue, diarrhea, pyrexia, decreased appetite, and pneumonia. Serious adverse events occurred in 64% of patients, most commonly from infection; the most common cause for treatment discontinuation was cytopenia.
The recommended dose of Polivy is 1.8 mg/kg as an intravenous infusion over 90 minutes every 21 days for six cycles in combination with bendamustine and a rituximab product, the FDA said. Subsequent infusions may be administered over 30 minutes if the previous infusion is tolerated.
Find the full press release on the FDA website.