Positive topline data from phase III study of omidubicel in patients with high-risk hematologic malignancies- Gamida Cell

Gamida Cell Ltd.:announced positive topline results from its Phase III clinical study evaluating the safety and efficacy of omidubicel, an investigational advanced cell therapy in development as a potential life-saving treatment option for patients in need of bone marrow transplant

The median time to neutrophil engraftment was 12 days for patients randomized to omidubicel compared to 22 days for the comparator group (p<0.001). Neutrophil engraftment is a measure of how quickly the stem cells a patient receives in a transplant are established and begin to make healthy new cells, and rapid neutrophil engraftment has been associated with fewer infections and shorter hospitalizations.

Despite the curative potential of bone marrow transplant, it is estimated that more than 40 percent of eligible patients in the United States do not receive a transplant for various reasons, including the lack of a matched donor. Even for patients who do receive a transplant, treatment is not always effective and can lead to serious complications that can dramatically affect their quality of life. Omidubicel is intended to address the current limitations of bone marrow transplant by providing a therapeutic dose of stem cells while preserving the cells’ functional therapeutic characteristics.

Topline Phase III Data : The international, multi-center, randomized Phase III study (NCT02730299) was designed to evaluate the safety and efficacy of omidubicel in patients with high-risk hematologic malignancies undergoing a bone marrow transplant compared to a comparator group of patients who received a standard umbilical cord blood transplant. The primary endpoint was time to neutrophil engraftment. The intent-to-treat analysis included 125 patients aged 12–65 years with acute lymphoblastic leukemia, acute myelogenous leukemia, chronic myelogenous leukemia, myelodysplastic syndrome or lymphoma and was conducted at more than 50 clinical centers in the United States, Latin America, Europe and Asia. The demographics and baseline characteristics were well-balanced across the two study groups. The study achieved its primary endpoint (p<0.001). In the intent-to-treat analysis, the median time to neutrophil engraftment was significantly shorter for patients who received omidubicel (12 days; 95% CI: 10-15 days) compared to the comparator group (22 days; 95% CI: 19-25 days). Omidubicel was generally well tolerated. Among patients who were transplanted per protocol, 96 percent of patients who received omidubicel achieved successful neutrophil engraftment, compared to 88 percent of patients in the comparator group.

The data reported now are consistent with results from a multi-center, Phase 1/II study in 36 patients with advanced hematologic malignancies , which showed that patients treated with omidubicel demonstrated more rapid neutrophil engraftment compared to a concurrent cohort of 146 patients treated with standard umbilical cord blood as reported by the Center for International Blood and Bone Marrow Transplant Research. In the Phase 1/II study, the median time to engraftment was 11.5 days (95% CI: 9-14 days) for omidubicel recipients compared to 21 days (95% CI: 20-23 days) for the CIBMTR cohort (p<0.001).Gamida Cell expects to report full efficacy and safety results at a medical conference later this year.

Comment:Gamida Cell Ltd. plans to initiate a rolling biologic license application (BLA) submission to the FDA in the fourth quarter of 2020 for omidubicel to treat patients eligible for bone marrow transplants.