avacopan

Treatment for ANCA-Associated Vasculitis

ChemoCentryx Submits New Drug Application to the U.S. FDA for Avacopan in ANCA-Associated Vasculitis

MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif., July 09, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) – ChemoCentryx, Inc., (NASDAQ: CCXI) today confirmed that the Company has submitted a New Drug Application (NDA) to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for avacopan for the treatment of patients with ANCA-associated vasculitis.

The Company’s NDA submission is supported by the results of its pivotal Phase III ADVOCATE trial, which demonstrated statistical superiority in sustaining remission at 52 weeks in the avacopan group compared to the prednisone group. In the trial, the avacopan group also showed significantly lower glucocorticoid toxicity, greater improvement in kidney function and greater improvement in health-related quality of life measures compared to the prednisone group. Finally, avacopan demonstrated favorable safety results in this serious and life-threatening disease, with fewer subjects having serious adverse events in the avacopan group than in the prednisone group.

“We have achieved a major landmark for ChemoCentryx with the submission of the NDA for avacopan in ANCA-associated vasculitis following our highly successful Phase III ADVOCATE trial,” said Thomas J. Schall, Ph.D., President and Chief Executive Officer of ChemoCentryx. “There is an urgent need for a non-immunosuppressive, targeted therapy that can achieve and sustain remission in this organ- and life-threatening disease, while reducing the toxicities associated with daily steroid use. Submission of our NDA is a critical step toward addressing this unmet need, as we seek to improve patients’ lives.”

In ANCA-associated vasculitis, avacopan has been granted orphan drug designation by the U.S. FDA and orphan medicinal product designation by the European Commission. ChemoCentryx’s Kidney Health Alliance partner, Vifor Fresenius Medical Care Renal Pharma (VFMCRP) intends to file a Marketing Authorization Application (MAA) with the European Medicines Agency (EMA) before the end of 2020.

ChemoCentryx is responsible for the discovery and development of avacopan and owns and retains the commercial rights to the drug in the United States. VFMCRP has an exclusive license to commercialize the drug in all countries outside the United States and has granted KISSEI PHARMACEUTICAL CO LTD., an exclusive sub-license to develop and commercialize the drug in Japan.

About ADVOCATE and ANCA-Associated Vasculitis

The ADVOCATE trial of avacopan was a global, randomized, double-blind, active-controlled, double-dummy Phase III trial of 331 patients with ANCA-associated vasculitis in 20 countries. Eligible study subjects were randomized to receive avacopan plus either rituximab or cyclophosphamide (followed by azathioprine/mycophenolate) or prednisone plus either rituximab or cyclophosphamide (followed by azathioprine/mycophenolate).

ANCA-associated vasculitis is a systemic disease in which over-activation of the complement pathway further activates neutrophils, leading to inflammation and destruction of small blood vessels. This results in organ damage and failure, with the kidney as the major target, and is fatal if not treated. Currently, treatment for ANCA-associated vasculitis consists of courses of non-specific immuno-suppressants (cyclophosphamide or rituximab), combined with the administration of daily glucocorticoids (steroids) for prolonged periods of time, which can be associated with significant clinical risk including death from infection.

About Avacopan

Avacopan is a first-in-class, orally-administered small molecule that employs a novel, highly targeted mode of action in the treatment of ANCA-associated vasculitis and other complement-driven autoimmune and inflammatory diseases. By precisely blocking the receptor (the C5aR) for the pro-inflammatory complement system fragment known as C5a on destructive inflammatory cells such as blood neutrophils, avacopan arrests the ability of those cells to do damage in response to C5a activation, which is known to be the driver of ANCA-associated vasculitis. Current therapies for ANCA-associated vasculitis and other related illnesses typically include broad immunosuppression with daily doses of glucocorticoids (steroids) such as prednisone or methylprednisone, which cause significant illness and even death. Avacopan therapy was designed to prevent these outcomes. Moreover, avacopan’s selective inhibition of only the C5aR leaves the beneficial C5a pathway through the C5L2 receptor functioning normally.  

ChemoCentryx is also developing avacopan for the treatment of patients with C3 glomerulopathy (C3G) and hidradenitis suppurativa (HS). The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has granted avacopan orphan drug designation for ANCA-associated vasculitis and C3G. The European Commission has granted orphan medicinal product designation for avacopan for the treatment of two forms of ANCA-associated vasculitis: microscopic polyangiitis and granulomatosis with polyangiitis (formerly known as Wegener’s granulomatosis), as well as for C3G.

ChemoCentryx’s Kidney Health Alliance with Vifor Pharma provides Vifor Pharma with exclusive rights to commercialize avacopan in markets outside of the U.S.

About ChemoCentryx

ChemoCentryx is a biopharmaceutical company developing new medications targeted at inflammatory and autoimmune diseases and cancer. ChemoCentryx targets the chemokine and chemoattractant systems to discover, develop and commercialize orally-administered therapies. ChemoCentryx’s lead drug candidate, avacopan (CCX168), successfully completed a pivotal Phase III trial in ANCA-associated vasculitis.

ChemoCentryx also has early stage drug candidates that target chemoattractant receptors in other inflammatory and autoimmune diseases and in cancer.

Forward-Looking Statements
ChemoCentryx cautions that statements included in this press release that are not a description of historical facts are forward-looking statements. Words such as “may,” “could,” “will,” “would,” “should,” “expect,” “plan,” “anticipate,” “believe,” “estimate,” “intend,” “predict,” “seek,” “contemplate,” “potential,” “continue” or “project” or the negative of these terms or other comparable terminology are intended to identify forward-looking statements. These statements include the Company’s statements regarding the timing of the FDA’s filing decision for the Company’s NDA, the achievement of anticipated goals and milestones, whether avacopan will be approved for the treatment of ANCA-associated vasculitis and whether the Company’s drug candidates will be shown to be effective in ongoing or future clinical trials. The inclusion of forward-looking statements should not be regarded as a representation by ChemoCentryx that any of its plans will be achieved. Actual results may differ from those set forth in this release due to the risks and uncertainties inherent in the ChemoCentryx business and other risks described in the Company’s filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”).  Investors are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date hereof, and ChemoCentryx undertakes no obligation to revise or update this news release to reflect events or circumstances after the date hereof. Further information regarding these and other risks is included under the heading “Risk Factors” in ChemoCentryx’s periodic reports filed with the SEC, including ChemoCentryx’s Annual Report on Form 10-K filed with the SEC on March 10, 2020 and its other reports which are available from the SEC’s website (www.sec.gov) and on ChemoCentryx’s website (www.chemocentryx.com) under the heading “Investors.” All forward-looking statements are qualified in their entirety by this cautionary statement. This caution is made under the safe harbor provisions of Section 21E of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995.

Source: ChemoCentryx, Inc.
 

Posted: July 2020

avacopan FDA Approval History