FDA approval of supplemental NDA for for Iclusig (ponatinb) in adult patients with newly diagnosed Ph+ ALL – Takeda

Takeda announced that the FDA has approved the supplemental New Drug Application (sNDA) for Iclusig (ponatinib) for the treatment of adult patients with newly diagnosed Philadelphia chromosome-positive acute lymphoblastic leukemia (Ph+ ALL) in combination with chemotherapy.

This indication is approved under accelerated approval based on minimal residual disease (MRD)-negative complete remission (CR) at the end of induction. Continued approval for this indication may be contingent upon verification and description of clinical benefit in confirmatory trials. This accelerated approval application was granted Priority Review and evaluated under the Real-Time Oncology Review (RTOR) program, an FDA initiative designed to expedite the delivery of cancer medicines by allowing components of an application to be reviewed before submission of the complete application.

“This label expansion for Iclusig is an incredibly exciting milestone, allowing U.S. adult patients with newly diagnosed Ph+ ALL to have an approved, targeted treatment option in the frontline,” said Awny Farajallah, MD, chief medical officer, oncology at Takeda. “We are thrilled that the FDA has recognized the potential of Iclusig to fill a large gap in care for these patients and look forward to seeing the impact this can have on people with this rare and aggressive form of cancer.”

The approval was supported by data from the PhALLCON study – the first, global, Phase III, registrational, head-to-head clinical trial in adults with newly diagnosed Ph+ ALL. The study, in which patients received either Iclusig or imatinib plus reduced-intensity chemotherapy, met its primary endpoint of MRD negative CR at the end of induction. MRD-negative CR is a composite endpoint defined in alignment with the FDA that reflects deep molecular and clinical responses and is an important prognostic indicator for long-term outcomes for patients with Ph+ ALL.

Iclusig demonstrated superiority compared to imatinib, with patients who received Iclusig achieving a greater than two-fold improvement in the rate of MRD-negative CR at the end of induction (cycle 3). In the trial, the safety profile of Iclusig was comparable to imatinib, and no new safety signals were identified.

“Ph+ ALL is an extremely aggressive cancer and patients with this disease suffer from poor outcomes. There has long been a need for a potent TKI that can suppress mutation development and elicit deep responses in the frontline,” said Elias Jabbour, MD, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center and lead investigator of the PhALLCON trial. “Ponatinib may help address these factors and impact long-term outcomes.”