AbbVie Sees Early ROI on $10B Immunogen Buy in Phase II Ovarian Cancer Win
07 Jun 2024
Clinical ResultPhase 3Phase 2Drug ApprovalAcquisition
Pictured: AbbVie's corporate office in South San Francisco, California/iStock, vzphotos
AbbVie on Thursday posted topline results from the Phase II PICCOLO trial, demonstrating the therapeutic potential of its newly acquired antibody-drug conjugate Elahere (mirvetuximab soravtansine) from ImmunoGen in folate receptor-alpha-positive, platinum-sensitive ovarian cancerfolate receptor-alpha-positive, platinum-sensitive ovarian cancer.
Elahere met its primary efficacy endpoint, eliciting a 51.9% objective response rate in heavily pretreated patients. The median duration of response, one of PICCOLO’s key secondary outcomes, reached 8.25 months.
In terms of safety, the Phase II study found no new signals of concern, with Elahere’s adverse events being consistent with findings from previous trials.
Angeles Alvarez Secord, professor of obstetrics and gynecology at the Duke Cancer InstituteCancer Institute, said in a statement that these findings “further support the potential of mirvetuximab soravtansine for platinum-sensitive ovarian cancer.”
“Significant unmet needs remain for patients with platinum-sensitive disease, as each subsequent line of therapy in this setting is associated with decreased efficacy and tolerability, which reinforces the need for treatment alternatives for these patients,” according to Alvarez Secord, who has received institutional research funding from AbbVie and other pharmaceutical companies.
AbbVie did not provide complete data from PICCOLO but promised to do so at a future medical congress.
Originally discovered and developed by ImmunoGen, Elahere is a first-in-class antibody-drug conjugate (ADC) designed to target the folate receptor-alpha, which is highly expressed in ovarian malignancies. Elahere carries the maytansinoid payload DM4, a highly potent tubulin blocker that can trigger cell death.
The FDA granted Elahere accelerated approval in November 2022 for the treatment of platinum-resistant ovarian cancer. The ADC won full approval in March 2024.
AbbVie gained ownership of Elahere in November 2023, when it paid $10.1 billion to acquire ImmunoGen. In the first quarter of 2024, AbbVie reported $64 million in global revenue for Elahere, which represents only a “partial quarter of sales” since the pharma closed the ImmunoGen acquisition in February 2024.
Prior to the acquisition agreement, Elahere generated $105.2 million in net revenues for ImmunoGen in the third quarter of 2023.
AbbVie is also running the Phase III GLORIOSA trial, evaluating Elahere in platinum-sensitive ovarian cancer in combination with Genentech’s Avastin (bevacizumab) as maintenance therapy following second-line platinum-doublet treatment.
Tristan Manalac is an independent science writer based in Metro Manila, Philippines. Reach out to him on LinkedIn or email him at tristan@tristanmanalac.com or tristan.manalac@biospace.com.
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