Incyte today announced that the European Commission (EC) has approved Pemazyre® (pemigatinib) for the treatment of adults with locally advanced or metastatic cholangiocarcinoma with a fibroblast growth factor receptor 2 (FGFR2) fusion or rearrangement that have progressed after at least one prior line of systemic therapy. The decision follows the positive opinion received from the European Medicines Agency’s Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use in January 2021 recommending the conditional marketing authorization of Pemazyre.
“Pemazyre’s approval is a crucial milestone for patients with FGFR2 positive cholangiocarcinoma. It is the first new treatment option to be made available to these patients in the EU in over a decade and has demonstrated a high rate of durable responses in a setting where historically there has been no effective standard of care,” said Hervé Hoppenot, Chief Executive Officer, Incyte. “We now look forward to working with individual countries in Europe to ensure eligible patients can access this new treatment as soon as possible.”
The EC decision is based on data from the FIGHT-202 study evaluating the safety and efficacy of Pemazyre in adult patients with previously treated, locally advanced or metastatic cholangiocarcinoma with documented FGF/FGFR status. Interim results from FIGHT-202 demonstrated that in patients harboring FGFR2 fusions or rearrangements (Cohort A [108 patients]), Pemazyre monotherapy resulted in an overall response rate (ORR) of 37 percent (primary endpoint) and a median duration of response (DOR) of 8 months (secondary endpoint) based on an independent central radiographic review. Pemazyre was generally well tolerated. Warnings and precautions for Pemazyre include high and low levels of phosphate in the blood, vision or eye problems, blood creatinine increase and for women who are pregnant, a risk of harm to the fetus.
“The data from the FIGHT-202 study has demonstrated the potential benefits that pemigatinib may have for eligible patients living with cholangiocarcinoma,” said Eric Van Cutsem, M.D., Ph.D., Professor and Division Head of Digestive Oncology, University of Leuven (KUL) and University Hospitals Gasthuisberg, Leuven, Belgium. “Pemazyre offers a much-needed option to eligible patients that have only had few effective treatment options until today.”
Cholangiocarcinoma is a rare cancer that forms in the bile duct. It is classified based on its origin: intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma occurs in the bile duct inside the liver and extrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma occurs in the bile duct outside the liver. Patients with cholangiocarcinoma are often diagnosed at a late or advanced stage when the prognosis is poor1,2. In Europe, the incidence of cholangiocarcinoma ranges between 6,000 – 8,0003,4. FGFR2 fusions or rearrangements occur almost exclusively in intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma, where they are observed in 10-16 percent of patients5,6,7.
“Historically, patients living with advanced cholangiocarcinoma have had very limited treatment options,” said Helen Morement, CEO, AMMF – The Cholangiocarcinoma Charity. “We are encouraged to see new, targeted therapies starting to be approved in Europe, giving hope to those in desperate need of alternatives.”
References
1 Banales JM, et al. Nat Rev Gastroenterol Hepatol. 2016;13:261‒280.
2 Uhlig J, et al. Ann Surg Oncol. 2019;26:1993–2000.
3 Kirstein MM, Vogel A. Visc Med 2016; 32: 395-400.
4 Countries factored include: UK, Germany, France, Spain, Italy, Switzerland, Denmark, Finland, Poland and Austria
5 Graham RP, et al. Hum Pathol. 2014;45:1630‒1638.
6 Ang C. J. Gastroenterol Hepatol. 2015;30:1116‒1122.
7 Ross JS et al. The Oncologist. 2014;19:235–242.
