The European Medicines Agency’s Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use (CHMP) adopted a positive opinion for Dupixent (dupilumab), recommending expanded approval in the European Union (EU) to treat severe atopic dermatitis in children six months to five years old who are candidates for systemic therapy.
The European Commission is expected to announce a final decision on the Dupixent application in the coming months. In June 2022, Dupixent was approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for children in this age group.
Atopic dermatitis
Atopic dermatitis is a chronic type 2 inflammatory skin disease. Between 85% and 90% of patients first develop symptoms before five years of age, which can often continue through adulthood.
Symptoms include intense, persistent itch and skin lesions that cover much of the body, resulting in skin dryness, cracking, pain, redness or darkening, crusting and oozing, which can increase the risk of skin infection. Severe atopic dermatitis may also significantly impact the quality of life of young children and their caregivers. Current treatment options in this age group are primarily topical corticosteroids (TCS), which can be associated with safety risks and may impair growth when used long-term.
The positive CHMP opinion is supported by data from a phase 3 trial in children six months to five years of age recently published in The Lancet, which met all primary and secondary endpoints. At 16 weeks, Dupixent plus low-potency TCS improved skin clearance and reduced overall disease severity compared to TCS alone (the placebo arm). Dupixent patients also experienced reduced itch and skin pain as well as improved sleep quality and health-related quality of life compared to placebo.
Long-term data further showed a sustained improvement in these disease measures up to one year. Safety results were generally consistent with the known safety profile of Dupixent in atopic dermatitis. Adverse events more commonly observed with Dupixent in this atopic dermatitis population compared to placebo included conjunctivitis and eosinophilia.
The use of Dupixent in infants and young children less than six years of age with severe atopic dermatitis is investigational in the EU and is not yet approved.
About Dupixent
Dupixent is a fully human monoclonal antibody that inhibits the signaling of the interleukin-4 (IL-4) and interleukin-13 (IL-13) pathways and is not an immunosuppressant. The Dupixent development program has shown significant clinical benefit and a decrease in type 2 inflammation in phase 3 trials, establishing that IL-4 and IL-13 are key and central drivers of the type 2 inflammation that plays a major role in multiple related and often co-morbid diseases. These diseases include approved indications for Dupixent, such as atopic dermatitis, asthma, chronic rhinosinusitis with nasal polyposis (CRSwNP) and prurigo nodularis, as well as investigational diseases such as eosinophilic esophagitis (EoE) in the EU.
Dupixent has received regulatory approvals in one or more countries around the world for use in certain patients with atopic dermatitis, prurigo nodularis, asthma, CRSwNP or EoE in different age populations. Dupixent is currently approved for one or more of these indications in more than 60 countries, including in Europe, the U.S. and Japan. More than 500,000 patients have been treated with Dupixent globally.
Dupilumab Development Program
Dupilumab is being jointly developed by Sanofi and Regeneron under a global collaboration agreement. To date, dupilumab has been studied across more than 60 clinical trials involving more than 10,000 patients with various chronic diseases driven in part by type 2 inflammation.
In addition to the currently approved indications, Sanofi and Regeneron are studying dupilumab in a broad range of diseases driven by type 2 inflammation or other allergic processes in phase 3 trials, including pediatric EoE, hand and foot atopic dermatitis, chronic inducible urticaria-cold, chronic spontaneous urticaria, chronic pruritus of unknown origin, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease with evidence of type 2 inflammation, chronic rhinosinusitis without nasal polyposis, allergic fungal rhinosinusitis, allergic bronchopulmonary aspergillosis and bullous pemphigoid. These potential uses of dupilumab are currently under clinical investigation, and the safety and efficacy in these conditions have not been fully evaluated by any regulatory authority.
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