drugsMay 26, 2021
Tag: CLL , SLL , monoclonal antibody
TG Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ: TGTX), today announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has accepted the Biologics License Application (BLA) for ublituximab, the Company’s investigational glycoengineered anti-CD20 monoclonal antibody, in combination with UKONIQ® (umbralisib), the Company’s once-daily, oral, inhibitor of PI3K-delta and CK1-epsilon, as a treatment for patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) and small lymphocytic lymphoma (SLL). The FDA has set a Prescription Drug User Fee Act (PDUFA) goal date of March 25, 2022. The FDA also notified the Company that it is not currently planning to hold an advisory committee meeting to discuss this application.
Michael S. Weiss, Executive Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of TG Therapeutics stated, “We are extremely pleased that the ublituximab BLA has been accepted by the FDA. This is an important milestone for us as it brings us one step closer to our goal of providing a novel combination treatment option to patients with both treatment naive and relapsed or refractory CLL and SLL. We look forward to collaborating with the FDA throughout this review process.”
The BLA submission was based on the results of the UNITY-CLL trial, a global Phase 3 trial evaluating the combination of ublituximab plus UKONIQ (U2) compared to obinutuzumab plus chlorambucil in patients with treatment naive and relapsed or refractory CLL. The U.S. FDA previously granted Fast Track designation to the combination of ublituximab and UKONIQ for the treatment of adult patients with CLL and orphan drug designation for ublituximab in combination with UKONIQ for the treatment of CLL.
UNITY-CLL is a global Phase 3 randomized controlled clinical trial comparing the combination of ublituximab plus UKONIQ (umbralisib), or U2, to an active control arm of obinutuzumab plus chlorambucil in patients with both treatment-naïve and relapsed or refractory chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL). The trial randomized patients into four treatment arms: ublituximab single agent, UKONIQ single agent, ublituximab plus UKONIQ, and an active control arm of obinutuzumab plus chlorambucil. A prespecified interim analysis was conducted to assess the contribution of ublituximab and UKONIQ in the U2 combination arm and allowed for the termination of the single agent arms. Accordingly, the UNITY-CLL Phase 3 trial continued enrollment in a 1:1 ratio into the two combination arms: the investigational arm of U2 and the control arm of obinutuzumab plus chlorambucil. Approximately 420 subjects enrolled to the two combination arms and approximately 60% of patients were treatment-naïve and 40% were relapsed or refractory. The primary endpoint for this study was superior progression-free survival (PFS) for the U2 combination compared to the control arm. The trial met its primary endpoint and results were presented at the American Society of Hematology (ASH) Annual Meeting in December 2020. The UNITY-CLL Phase 3 trial is being conducted under a Special Protocol Assessment (SPA) agreement with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
Chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) is the most common type of adult leukemia. It is estimated there will be more than 20,000 new cases of CLL diagnosed in the United States in 2020 and approximately 45,000 new cases globally in 2020.1,2 Although signs and symptoms of CLL may disappear for a period of time after initial treatment, the disease is considered incurable and many people will require additional treatment due to the return of malignant cells.
Fast Track is a program designed to expedite the development and review of drugs that treat serious conditions and that demonstrate the potential to address an unmet medical need. Filling an unmet medical need is defined as providing a therapy where none exists or providing a therapy that may be potentially better than available therapy.
A drug that receives Fast Track designation is eligible for more frequent interactions with the FDA, priority review if relevant criteria are met, and rolling submission of the Biologics License Application or New Drug Application.
Orphan drug designation is granted by the FDA to drugs and biologics which are defined as those intended for the safe and effective treatment, diagnosis or prevention of rare diseases/disorders that affect fewer than 200,000 people in the U.S. Orphan drug designation provides certain incentives which may include tax credits towards the cost of clinical trials and prescription drug user fee waivers. If a product that has orphan drug designation subsequently receives the first FDA approval for the disease for which it has such designation, the product is entitled to orphan product exclusivity.
TG Therapeutics is a fully-integrated, commercial stage biopharmaceutical company focused on the acquisition, development and commercialization of novel treatments for B-cell malignancies and autoimmune diseases. In addition to an active research pipeline including five investigational medicines across these therapeutic areas, TG has received accelerated approval from the U.S. FDA for UKONIQ™ (umbralisib), for the treatment of adult patients with relapsed/refractory marginal zone lymphoma who have received at least one prior anti-CD20-based regimen and relapsed/refractory follicular lymphoma who have received at least three prior lines of systemic therapies. Currently, the Company has three programs in Phase 3 development for the treatment of patients with relapsing forms of multiple sclerosis (RMS) and patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) and several investigational medicines in Phase 1 clinical development. For more information, visit www.tgtherapeutics.com, and follow us on Twitter @TGTherapeutics and Linkedin.
UKONIQ® is a registered trademark of TG Therapeutics, Inc.
UKONIQ is the first and only oral inhibitor of phosphoinositide 3 kinase (PI3K) delta and casein kinase 1 (CK1) epsilon. PI3K-delta is known to play an important role in supporting cell proliferation and survival, cell differentiation, intercellular trafficking and immunity and is expressed in both normal and malignant B-cells. CK1-epsilon is a regulator of oncoprotein translation and has been implicated in the pathogenesis of cancer cells, including lymphoid malignancies.
UKONIQ is indicated for the treatment of adult patients with relapsed or refractory marginal zone lymphoma (MZL) who have received at least one prior anti-CD20-based regimen and for the treatment of adult patients with relapsed or refractory follicular lymphoma (FL) who have received at least three prior lines of systemic therapy.
These indications are approved under accelerated approval based on overall response rate. Continued approval for this indication may be contingent upon verification and description of clinical benefit in a confirmatory trial.
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