Non-clinical pharmacology and toxicology studies of bevacizumab biosimilar LY01008.

LY01008 was a biosimilar of Avastin® developed by Shandong Boan Biotechnology. To support the clinical trial and marketing application of LY01008 as a biosimilar, a series of non-clinical pharmacodynamics (PD), pharmacokinetics (PK), and toxicological studies have been conducted. The PD study results showed that LY01008 had similar pharmacodynamic effects with Avastin in VEGF (vascular endothelial growth factor) binding activity, inhibitory effect on angiogenesis and vascular permeability, and anti-tumor activities in nude mouse models alone or combined with chemotherapeutic agents. PK study showed that LY01008 had similar PK parameters with Avastin at the same doses, and the relative bioavailability of LY01008 was 111.4%. The maximum tolerated dose of LY01008 in the single-dose toxicity study of cynomolgus monkeys was greater than 258 mg/kg. LY01008 had no effects on central nervous system, cardiovascular system and respiratory system in cynomolgus monkeys. LY01008 had no hemolytic effect in vitro and no local irritation in cynomolgus monkeys. The immunogenicity of LY01008 was no higher than that of Avastin in cynomolgus monkeys. In the one-month multiple-dose toxicity study in cynomolgus monkeys, the toxicokinetics profiles of LY01008 was similar with Avastin, the characteristics of the toxic reactions were the same and the extent was similar between LY01008 and Avastin, and no new toxic reactions were observed on LY01008. In conclusion, LY01008 had a good safety profile, and was biosimilar with Avastin in the comparative studies of pharmacodynamics, pharmacokinetics, toxicokinetics and toxicology, which supported the clinical trial and marketing application of LY01008 as a biosimilar of Avastin.

Cost-Effectiveness of Bevacizumab Biosimilar LY01008 Combined With Chemotherapy as First-Line Treatment for Chinese Patients With Advanced or Recurrent Nonsquamous Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer.

Objective: To investigate whether LY01008, a locally developed bevacizumab biosimilar agent, is appropriate for widespread use among Chinese advanced or recurrent nonsquamous non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients, our current study was designed to evaluate the cost-effectiveness of first-line LY01008 combined with platinum-doublet chemotherapy versus chemotherapy alone from the perspective of the Chinese healthcare system. Material and Methods: This economic evaluation designed a Markov model to compare the healthcare cost and quality-adjusted life-year (QALY) of first-line LY01008 combined with chemotherapy versus first-line chemotherapy. Transition probabilities, including disease progression, survival, and adverse event (AE)-related discontinuation of first-line treatment, were estimated using data from the clinical trials. Costs and health utilities were derived from local databases, hospitals, and published literature. Our base case analysis and scenario analysis focused on the cost-effectiveness of chemotherapy combined with a clinical trial dosage (15 mg/kg every 3-week cycle) and a real-world dosage (7.5 mg/kg every 3-week cycle) of LY01008, respectively. Results: In the base case analysis, first-line LY01008 combined with chemotherapy was associated with an increase of 0.48 QALYs in effectiveness and an increase of CNY 189,988 (US$ 26,240) in healthcare costs compared with first-line chemotherapy, resulting an incremental cost-effectiveness ratio (ICER) of CNY 375,425 (US$ 54,430)/QALY. In the scenario analysis, first-line LY01008 combined with chemotherapy was associated with a mean healthcare cost of CNY 265,060 (US$ 38,429), resulting an ICER of CNY 221,579 (US$ 32,125/QALY) between first-line LY01008 combined with chemotherapy versus first-line chemotherapy. The parameters that determine the cost of LY01008 have the greatest impact on the cost-effectiveness results. Conclusion: From the perspective of the Chinese healthcare system, first-line LY01008 at a real-world dosage combined with chemotherapy is likely to represent a cost-effective strategy compared with first-line chemotherapy alone for Chinese advanced or recurrent nonsquamous NSCLC patients.

A randomized, double-blind, parallel-group phase I study comparing the pharmacokinetics, safety, and immunogenicity of LY01008, a candidate bevacizumab biosimilar, with its reference product Avastin® in healthy Chinese male subjects.

BACKGROUND: Bevacizumab, an inhibitor of angiogenesis, has been approved in several anti-cancer therapies. This study compared the pharmacokinetic (PK) profiles, safety, and immunogenicity of a bevacizumab biosimilar, LY01008, with those of European Union - approved bevacizumab (Avastin®) in healthy Chinese males. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS: In this double-blind, open-label, parallel-group study, healthy Chinese male subjects were randomized 1:1 to receive either LY01008 or Avastin® 3 mg/kg intravenously. Primary study endpoints were PK parameters such as the area under the concentration-time curve (AUC) from time zero to infinity (AUC0-∞), AUC from time zero to last quantifiable concentration (AUC0-t), and maximum serum concentration (Cmax). Secondary study endpoints included safety, tolerability, and immunogenicity. RESULTS: One hundred and twelve subjects were randomized to receive LY01008 (n = 56) or Avastin® (n = 56). The 90% CIs of the GMRs of AUC0-t, AUC0-∞, and Cmax of LY01008 to Avastin® were all within the bioequivalence margin. Other PK parameters, safety, and immunogenicity profiles were comparable across the two treatment groups. CONCLUSIONS: This study demonstrated equivalent PK, comparable safety, and similar immunogenicity of LY01008 to Avastin® in healthy subjects, thus paving the way for further clinical evaluation. TRIAL REGISTRATION: The trial is registered at ClinicalTrials.gov (CT.gov identifier: NCT05110118).

Bevacizumab biosimilar LY01008 compared with bevacizumab (Avastin) as first-line treatment for Chinese patients with unresectable, metastatic, or recurrent non-squamous non-small-cell lung cancer: A multicenter, randomized, double-blinded, phase III trial.

BACKGROUND: Previous studies have demonstrated the preclinical pharmacological and toxicological consistency, and clinical pharmacokinetic equivalence of bevacizumab biosimilar LY01008 with reference bevacizumab (Avastin). This randomized controlled trial aimed to compare the efficacy and safety of LY01008 with Avastin in first-line treatment of Chinese patients with advanced or recurrent non-squamous non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). METHODS: Stage IIIB-IV NSCLC patients with evaluable lesions, good physical status, and adequate organ functions from 67 centers across China were randomized in a ratio of 1:1 to receive LY01008 or Avastin 15 mg/kg intravenously in combination with paclitaxel/carboplatin (combined treatment) for 4-6 cycles, followed by maintenance monotherapy with LY01008 until disease progression, intolerable toxicity, or death. The primary endpoint was objective response rate (ORR) in accordance with Response Evaluation Criteria in Solid Tumors (RECIST) version 1.1 confirmed by independent radiological review committees (IRRC). Secondary endpoints included disease control rate (DCR), duration of response (DoR), progression-free survival (PFS), overall survival (OS), and safety. This study was registered in ClinicalTrials.gov (NCT03533127). RESULTS: Between December 15th , 2017, and May 15th , 2019, a total of 649 patients were randomized to the LY01008 (n = 324) or Avastin (n = 325) group. As of September 25th , 2019 for primary endpoint analysis, 589 patients received ORR evaluation, with a median number of combined treatment cycles of 5 (range 1-6) and median duration of treatment of 3.0 (range 0.0-5.1) months. ORR of response-evaluable patients in the LY01008 and Avastin groups were 48.5% and 53.0%, respectively. The stratified ORR ratio was 0.91 (90% CI 0.80-1.04, within the prespecified equivalence margin of 0.75-1.33). Up to May 15th , 2020, with a median follow-up of 13.6 (range 0.8-28.4) months, no notable differences in DCR, median DoR, median PFS, median OS, and 1-year OS rate were observed between the LY01008 and Avastin groups. There were no clinically meaningful differences in safety and immunogenicity across treatment groups. CONCLUSIONS: LY01008 demonstrated similarity to Avastin in terms of efficacy and safety in Chinese patients with advanced or recurrent non-squamous NSCLC. LY01008 combined with paclitaxel/carboplatin is expected to become a new treatment option for unresectable, metastatic, or recurrent non-squamous NSCLC patients in the first-line setting.