Takeda: Positive Data in 1st Pivotal Phase 3 Trial of Proteasome Inhibitor at ASH

– Maintenance Therapy with NINLARO™ (ixazomib) Improved Progression-Free Survival in Adult Patients with Multiple Myeloma Following Autologous Stem Cell Transplant –

– Data will be presented at the 60^th American Society of Hematology (ASH) Annual Meeting on December 2, 2018 –

Takeda Pharmaceutical Company Limited (TSE:4502) today announced that data from the Phase 3 randomized, TOURMALINE-MM3 study evaluating the effect of single-agent oral NINLARO^™ (ixazomib) as a maintenance therapy in adult patients diagnosed with multiple myeloma who previously responded to high-dose therapy (HDT) and autologous stem cell transplant (ASCT) will be presented at the 60^th American Society of Hematology (ASH) annual meeting on Sunday, December 2, 2018 in San Diego, California. NINLARO is currently not approved as a maintenance therapy for multiple myeloma following ASCT.

The trial achieved its primary endpoint with NINLARO resulting in a statistically significant improvement in progression-free survival (PFS) versus placebo in adult patients diagnosed with multiple myeloma who responded to HDT and ASCT as assessed by an Independent Review Committee (IRC) (HR 0.72; p-value=0.002). This corresponds to a 28 percent reduction in risk of progression or death and a 39 percent improvement in PFS with NINLARO compared with placebo. The safety profile of NINLARO in the maintenance setting is consistent with previously reported results of single-agent NINLARO use.

“A growing body of evidence has shown that maintenance therapy in multiple myeloma may prolong the duration of disease control,” said Meletios Dimopoulos, MD, Professor and Chairman of the Department of Clinical Therapeutics at the University Athens School of Medicine, Athens, Greece. “As currently approved options are limited and do not include a proteasome inhibitor, there is a need for additional maintenance treatments that can sustain response and have a tolerable safety profile. Data from the TOURMALINE-MM3 clinical trial supports single-agent NINLARO as a potential oral proteasome inhibitor maintenance therapy option post-ASCT.”

“The positive results from this pivotal study – the first and only Phase 3 placebo controlled study evaluating a proteasome inhibitor in this setting – support NINLARO as a potential maintenance therapy for patients who have undergone a stem cell transplant,” said Jesús Gómez Navarro, M.D., Vice President, Head of Oncology Clinical Research and Development, Takeda. “It is crucial that we continue to support patients by developing treatment options aimed to maintain or deepen response and delay disease progression. According to the findings, patients treated with NINLARO had improved progression-free survival over those in the control arm, which corresponds to a reduced risk of progression or death of nearly one-third.”

“As a result of continued research, the multiple myeloma treatment landscape is constantly evolving. While this is encouraging news for the multiple myeloma community, there is still work to be done to further our goal of addressing the unmet needs of patients,” said Brian GM Durie, M.D., Chairman of the Board, International Myeloma Foundation. “To that end, the development of additional safe and effective maintenance therapies is essential.”

https://www.marketscreener.com/TAKEDA-PHARMACEUTICAL-CO-6491073/news/Takeda-Pharmaceutical-to-Present-Positive-Data-from-TOURMALINE-MM3-First-Pivotal-Phase-3-Placebo-27693595/