A Phase 2, International, Multicenter, Open-label Clinical Trial of Subcutaneous Tbo-Filgrastim in Pediatric Patients With Solid Tumors Undergoing Myelosuppressive Chemotherapy.

This phase 2, multicenter, open-label trial investigated the safety and tolerability of tbo-filgrastim in pediatric patients receiving myelosuppressive chemotherapy. In total, 50 patients 1 month to below 16 years of age with solid tumors without bone marrow involvement were stratified into 3 age groups (2 infants, 30 children, 18 adolescents) and prophylactically administered tbo-filgrastim 5 µg/kg body weight once daily subcutaneously. The administration started after the last chemotherapy treatment in week 1 of the first cycle and continued until the expected neutrophil nadir had passed, and the neutrophil count had recovered to 2.0×10/L. The primary endpoint was safety and tolerability of tbo-filgrastim; secondary endpoints included efficacy. The mean (SD) number of doses administered was 9.2 (2.83) in children and 7.3 (1.88) in adolescents. Serious treatment-emergent adverse events were reported in 24% of patients; the most common were febrile neutropenia (FN) (12%), anemia (8%), and thrombocytopenia (8%). Nine patients (18%) experienced mild treatment-related treatment-emergent adverse events; the most common were musculoskeletal and connective tissue disorders (8%). No deaths or withdrawals occurred. The incidence of severe neutropenia (SN) was 52% and the mean (SD) duration of SN was 1.8 (2.21) days; FN incidence was 26%. A daily dose of tbo-filgrastim 5 µg/kg body weight administered to pediatric patients demonstrated a safety profile consistent with the safety profile in adult patients. The incidence of FN was on the lower end of the range reported in the literature and the SN results provide supportive data on the efficacy of tbo-filgrastim in pediatric patients.

Real-world safety experience of tevagrastim/ratiograstim/biograstim and tbo-filgrastim, short-acting recombinant human granulocyte colony-stimulating factors.

PURPOSE: Recombinant granulocyte colony-stimulating factors (rG-CSFs), such as filgrastim, are administered to prevent complications in patients receiving chemotherapy. In Europe, a biosimilar to filgrastim, tevagrastim/ratiograstim/biograstim, was approved in 2008. In the USA, the same product was approved as tbo-filgrastim under a 351(a) biologic license application in 2012 with the brand name Granix®. Postmarket surveillance remains a priority for monitoring the safety of biologics and biosimilars to identify rare and immunogenicity-related events. We report the global and US pharmacovigilance data for tevagrastim/ratiograstim/biograstim and tbo-filgrastim, respectively. METHODS: Cumulative exposure and adverse event data from initial approval in Europe to December 31, 2016, were collected globally from spontaneous reports submitted by healthcare professionals and consumers, scientific literature, competent authorities, and solicited case reports from non-interventional studies. A separate search was conducted on the global data set to identify reports originating from the USA and Puerto Rico to describe the US experience. RESULTS: Overall, the global safety profile of tevagrastim/ratiograstim/biograstim in the postmarket, real-world setting was comparable to clinical trial experience. Postmarket safety experience of tbo-filgrastim in the USA was consistent with global data. The most common SAEs were febrile neutropenia and decreased white blood cell count. The most common non-serious event was bone pain. There was no evidence of immunogenicity. CONCLUSIONS: This pharmacovigilance analysis indicates that postmarket experience of tevagrastim/ratiograstim/biograstim and tbo-filgrastim is consistent with clinical trials. Adverse reactions associated with the originator rG-CSF (capillary leak syndrome and glomerulonephritis) have not been observed with tevagrastim/ratiograstim/biograstim or tbo-filgrastim during the postmarket period.

Efficacy and safety of lipegfilgrastim compared with placebo in patients with non-small cell lung cancer receiving chemotherapy: post hoc analysis of elderly versus younger patients.

PURPOSE: Lipegfilgrastim, a glycoPEGylated recombinant granulocyte colony-stimulating factor (G-CSF), reduces neutropenia duration and febrile neutropenia (FN) incidence in patients with cancer receiving myelosuppressive chemotherapy. A phase 3 trial of lipegfilgrastim was conducted in patients with advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) receiving cisplatin/etoposide (which produces mild-to-moderate myelosuppression). Because patients aged >65 years are at higher risk for FN versus younger patients, this post hoc analysis compared outcomes in elderly (>65 years) versus younger participants in this trial. METHODS: Patients were randomized 2:1 to receive a once-per-cycle single subcutaneous injection of lipegfilgrastim 6 mg or placebo, with up to 4 cycles of every-3-week cisplatin (day 1) and etoposide (days 1-3). The primary end point was FN incidence during cycle 1. Outcomes were compared across treatment groups and by age groups (≤65 and >65 years). RESULTS: For patients aged ≤65 years, FN incidence during cycle 1 was similar in the lipegfilgrastim and placebo groups (3.0 vs 3.2 %, respectively), whereas for elderly patients, there was a reduction in FN incidence with lipegfilgrastim (0 vs 13.3 %, respectively). In both age subgroups, lipegfilgrastim showed a propensity to reduce the incidence and duration of severe neutropenia, time to absolute neutrophil count (ANC) recovery, and depth of ANC nadir. Adverse events were generally similar between groups. CONCLUSIONS: This analysis suggests that in patients with a higher FN risk, such as the elderly patients of this study, lipegfilgrastim reduces not only the duration of severe neutropenia but also the incidence of FN.

Phase I, two-way, crossover study to demonstrate bioequivalence and to compare safety and tolerability of single-dose XM17 vs Gonal-f® in healthy women after follicle-stimulating hormone downregulation.

BACKGROUND: XM17 is a recombinant human follicle-stimulating hormone (rhFSH) intended mainly for use in controlled ovarian hyperstimulation and the treatment of anovulation. The purpose of the current study was to establish bioequivalence, safety and tolerability of single 300-IU subcutaneous (sc) doses of XM17 to that of the reference follitropin alfa (Gonal-f(®)) in healthy young women. METHODS: This open-label, Phase I, single-dose, single-center, two-way crossover study was conducted from February to May 2009. Thirty-six women aged 18-39 years were included, with a study duration of ~27 days per participant. After endogenous FSH downregulation with goserelin (3.6 mg) on study Day 0, XM17 and Gonal-f(®) were administered on Days 11 and 19 in random sequence. Frequent serum samples were drawn for standard pharmacokinetics until 168 h postdosing. Laboratory values, adverse events (AEs) and local tolerability were assessed throughout the study period. Primary endpoints included Cmax and AUC0-t. Secondary endpoints included additional pharmacokinetic (PK) parameters, safety and tolerability. RESULTS: Ratios of XM17 to Gonal-f(®) for Cmax and AUC0-t equaled 1.017 (90 % confidence interval [CI]: 0.958, 1.080) and 1.028 (90 % CI: 0.931, 1.134), respectively, with the CIs contained within the predefined interval (0.8, 1.25). Ratios for AUC0-168h, AUC0-∞ and t1/2 were also ~1, and no difference in tmax was detected. Both XM17 and Gonal-f(®) were well tolerated, with no detectable anti-FSH antibodies, serious AEs or AEs leading to discontinuation or dose reduction. CONCLUSIONS: PK bioequivalence of single 300-IU sc doses of XM17 to the reference product Gonal-f® was statistically demonstrated. XM17 was well tolerated both systemically and locally. TRIAL REGISTRATION: ClinicalTrials.gov: NCT02592031 ; date of registration: 28 October, 2015.

A pharmacokinetic study of lipegfilgrastim in children with Ewing family of tumors or rhabdomyosarcoma.

PURPOSE: Neutropenia is a common complication from chemotherapy, limiting optimal dosing and treatment. Lipegfilgrastim is a long-acting granulocyte colony-stimulating factor developed for the management of chemotherapy-induced neutropenia. The objectives of this phase 1, multinational, open-label, single-arm study were to characterize the pharmacokinetics (PK) and pharmacodynamics (PD) of a single body weight-adjusted dose of lipegfilgrastim and to evaluate the efficacy, safety, and tolerability of the drug in children with Ewing family of tumors or rhabdomyosarcoma treated with myelosuppressive chemotherapy. METHODS: Enrolled patients received lipegfilgrastim (100 µg/kg) 24 h after the last chemotherapy treatment in week 1. Patients were stratified into three age groups: 2 to <6, 6 to <12, and 12 to <18 years. Blood samples for PK analyses were obtained at baseline and at 3, 8, 24, 30, 48, 72, 96, 144, and 240 h postdose for the two oldest groups and up to 144 h in the youngest group. RESULTS: Twenty-one patients were enrolled and received lipegfilgrastim, seven in each age group. Lipegfilgrastim exposure levels were comparable across age groups, with concentrations maintained over a prolonged period after a single injection. Differences in PD were mainly associated with chemotherapy type. Most investigator-reported adverse events were attributed to chemotherapy and not to lipegfilgrastim. Severe adverse events were noted in 57% of patients; febrile neutropenia, leukopenia, neutropenia, and thrombocytopenia were more frequent among the oldest patients. CONCLUSIONS: Results support the use of a body weight-adjusted dose to achieve equivalent initial peak exposure levels of lipegfilgrastim in children of various ages.

Cardiovascular Morbidity and Pure Red Cell Aplasia Associated With Epoetin Theta Therapy in Patients With Chronic Kidney Disease: A Prospective, Noninterventional, Multicenter Cohort Study.

PURPOSE: The European Medicines Agency recommends limiting the hemoglobin (Hb) concentration to 10 to 12 g/dL in adults with chronic kidney disease (CKD) receiving erythropoiesis-stimulating agents such as epoetin theta. This postauthorization study assessed the incidence and intensity of cardiovascular events, including ischemic stroke, in patients receiving epoetin theta for anemia associated with CKD. A secondary end point was adverse drug reactions, including pure red cell aplasia. METHODS: In this prospective, noninterventional, multinational cohort study, consecutive patients with advanced or end-stage renal disease and receiving epoetin theta were followed up for 6 months. Data on reportable adverse events (RAEs) (cardiac disorders, cardiac failure, myocardial infarction, and ischemic stroke and respective subterms), epoetin theta dosage, and Hb concentrations were collected. A post hoc exploratory analysis assessed the incidences of RAEs according to tertiles for individual mean Hb concentration (≤10.7, >10.7-11.47, and >11.47 g/dL for low, intermediate, and high, respectively) and mean weekly epoetin theta dosage (≤62, >62-125, and >125 IU/kg/wk for low, intermediate, and high). FINDINGS: Data from 1039 patients were included (577 men, 462 women; mean age, 68.7 years). A total of 101 RAEs were documented in 89 patients (8.6%), for an event rate of 0.1985/person-year. Sixty-four patients (6.1%) died; none of the deaths was considered related to epoetin theta use. The incidence of RAEs was lowest at intermediate Hb concentrations (6.2%) compared with low (11.3%) and high (7.8%) Hb concentrations. The incidence of ischemic stroke was 1.5% at high Hb concentrations versus 0.6% at both the low and intermediate Hb concentrations. The incidence of any RAE was greater in the high-dose group (10.1%) than in the intermediate-dose (8.0%) and low-dose (7.6%) groups. The risk for any cardiovascular RAE or ischemic stroke was greatest in the high-dose/high-Hb group (13.3%), followed by high dose/low Hb (12.6%) and low dose/low Hb (12.1%). The risks for RAEs were lowest at high dose/intermediate Hb (3.8%) and low dose/intermediate Hb (5.3%). The event rate of adverse drug reactions other than the predefined RAEs was 0.0161/person-year. No cases of pure red cell aplasia were reported. IMPLICATIONS: The findings from the present study suggest that, for maintaining the optimal target Hb concentration (10-12 g/dL according to the current summary of product characteristics for epoetin theta; 10-11.5 g/dL according to the current guideline from Kidney Disease Improving Global Outcomes) in anemic adults with CKD, the lowest approved, effective dose epoetin theta should be used.

Differential sensitivity of lipegfilgrastim and pegfilgrastim to neutrophil elastase correlates with differences in clinical pharmacokinetic profile.

To assess the basis of the different half-lives of long-acting human granulocyte colony-stimulating factor (G-CSF) drugs, the effect of neutrophil elastase on lipegfilgrastim and pegfilgrastim was investigated. Sensitivity to human neutrophil elastase (HNE) was evaluated by incubating the drugs with HNE followed by sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE). Drugs were also incubated with isolated human neutrophils followed by Western blot analysis. Lipegfilgrastim was more resistant to degradation with HNE or neutrophils than pegfilgrastim and appeared more intact on SDS-PAGE gels and Western blots. Lipegfilgrastim retained more functional activity than pegfilgrastim after incubation with HNE (67% vs ∼ 9%, respectively) or neutrophils (80% vs ∼ 4%, respectively) as assessed in an NFS-60 cell-based [(3) H]-thymidine incorporation assay. The binding and affinity of untreated lipegfilgrastim and pegfilgrastim for G-CSF receptors were evaluated using an NFS-60 competitive G-CSF receptor-binding assay and surface plasmon resonance. Untreated drugs were also evaluated in the functional NFS-60 thymidine incorporation assay. G-CSF receptor binding, receptor affinity, and functional activity were comparable between untreated drugs. The results showed a greater resistance to neutrophil elastase degradation and concomitant retention of functional activity of lipegfilgrastim compared with pegfilgrastim, which potentially explains the clinical observations of a longer half-life of lipegfilgrastim versus pegfilgrastim.

Phase 1 safety, tolerability, and pharmacokinetic study of single ascending doses of XM17 (recombinant human follicle-stimulating hormone) in downregulated healthy women.

BACKGROUND: XM17 is a recombinant human follicle-stimulating hormone (follitropin alfa) for stimulation of multifollicular development in women undergoing controlled ovarian hyper-stimulation during assisted reproductive therapy and for treatment of anovulation. Manufactured using Chinese hamster ovary cells transfected with the human follicle-stimulating hormone gene, XM17 has an identical amino acid sequence to that of the human protein as well as to those of the other approved recombinant human follicle-stimulating hormone products. Glycosylation patterns may differ slightly between products. The objectives of this first-in-human study were to assess the safety, tolerability, pharmacokinetics, and dose-proportionality of single ascending subcutaneous doses of XM17 in healthy young female volunteers. METHODS: Endogenous follicle-stimulating hormone was downregulated by implanting a 1-month depot of goserelin acetate 3.6 mg on day 0 in eligible subjects. On day 14 of the experimental period, subjects received one of four ascending doses of XM17. Blood sampling to obtain the pharmacokinetic profile of XM17 was done at frequent intervals until 168 hours post-dose. RESULTS: Following downregulation of endogenous follicle-stimulating hormone to <4 IU/L, 40 subjects (of mean age 29±5.4 years) received single subcutaneous doses of 37.5 (n=4, pilot group), 75, 150, or 300 IU (n=12 each) of XM17. The mean serum concentration-time profiles of XM17 revealed dose-related increases in maximum concentration (Cmax) within 24 hours followed by monoexponential decay for the three higher dose levels. Slopes estimated by linear regression for Cmax and AUC0-168h were ~1.0 (0.9052 IU/L and 1.0964 IU·h/L, respectively). For each IU of XM17 administered, Cmax and AUC0-168h rose by 0.032 IU/L and 2.60 IU·h/L, respectively. Geometric mean elimination half-life ranged from 54 to 90 hours. No antibodies to XM17 were detected. The most common treatment-emergent adverse events were headache (12 events in eleven [27.5%] subjects) and dizziness (four events in four [10%] subjects); two subjects (5%) reported mild pain on touch at the injection site. CONCLUSION: Single subcutaneous doses of XM17 up to 300 IU in healthy young women exhibited dose-proportional pharmacokinetics with good safety and tolerability.

A thorough QT study to assess the effects of tbo-filgrastim on cardiac repolarization in healthy subjects.

Tbo-filgrastim is a recombinant human granulocyte colony-stimulating factor approved by the US Food and Drug Administration to reduce the duration of severe neutropenia in patients with nonmyeloid malignancies receiving myelosuppressive anticancer drugs associated with a clinically significant incidence of febrile neutropenia. We assessed the effect of tbo-filgrastim on cardiac conduction and repolarization in healthy subjects. A three-arm, parallel-group, active- and placebo-controlled, double-blind study randomized healthy adults to a single 5 µg/kg intravenous tbo-filgrastim infusion, a single intravenous placebo infusion, or a single 400 mg moxifloxacin oral dose. The primary end point was placebo-corrected time-matched change from baseline in QT interval corrected using a QT individual correction (QTcI) method. Secondary end points included heart rate, PR interval, QRS duration, change in electrocardiogram patterns, correlation between QTcI change from baseline (milliseconds) and tbo-filgrastim serum concentrations, and safety variables. A total of 145 subjects were enrolled (50 tbo-filgrastim, 50 placebo, 45 moxifloxacin). Peak placebo-corrected change from baseline for QTcI with tbo-filgrastim was 3.5 milliseconds, with a two-sided 95% upper confidence interval of 7.2 milliseconds, demonstrating no signal for any tbo-filgrastim effect on QTc. Concentration-effect modeling showed no evidence of an effect of tbo-filgrastim on cardiac repolarization. Tbo-filgrastim produced no clinically significant changes in other electrocardiogram parameters. Tbo-filgrastim was well tolerated.

Lipegfilgrastim: pharmacodynamics and pharmacokinetics for body-weight-adjusted and 6 mg fixed doses in two randomized studies in healthy volunteers.

OBJECTIVE: Two phase I, single-blind (subject blinded to treatment), randomized studies were conducted to assess the pharmacodynamics, pharmacokinetics, safety, and tolerability of lipegfilgrastim compared with pegfilgrastim in healthy adult volunteers. METHODS: Study 1 consisted of a pilot safety phase (N = 8) during which subjects received a single body-weight-adjusted subcutaneous dose of lipegfilgrastim 25 µg/kg and a dose escalation phase (N = 45) wherein subjects received lipegfilgrastim 50 or 100 µg/kg or pegfilgrastim 100 µg/kg. Study 2 was a single-blind, fixed-dose study (N = 36) comparing subcutaneous lipegfilgrastim 6 mg and pegfilgrastim 6 mg. RESULTS: Cumulative exposure (AUC0-t last and AUC 0-∞) and peak exposure (Cmax) were higher for lipegfilgrastim than pegfilgrastim after both weight-adjusted and fixed dosing. In both studies, the terminal elimination half-life of lipegfilgrastim was 5-10 hours longer than the terminal elimination half-life for pegfilgrastim at the maximum dose, and the time to maximum serum concentration (tmax) was observed later for lipegfilgrastim than for pegfilgrastim. The area over the baseline effect curve (AOBEC) for absolute neutrophil count (ANC) was approximately 30% greater after lipegfilgrastim dosing compared with the same dose of pegfilgrastim at the maximum dose. Both drugs were well tolerated, with a similar occurrence of adverse events between treatment groups. Key limitations of these studies include the small numbers of subjects and differences in dosage regimens between the two studies. CONCLUSIONS: In these studies, lipegfilgrastim provided a longer-lasting increase in ANC compared with pegfilgrastim at an equivalent dose, without increasing the peak ANC values. This may reflect the higher cumulative exposure and slower clearance (therefore longer body residence) of lipegfilgrastim. These data support the use of single-dose lipegfilgrastim 6 mg in subsequent phase III trials as prophylactic treatment for patients receiving myelosuppressive chemotherapy.