CTI BioPharma Announces FDA Accelerated Approval of VONJO™ (pacritinib) for the Treatment of Adult Patients with Myelofibrosis and Thrombocytopenia
VONJO is the First Approved Therapy to Specifically Address the Needs of Adult Cytopenic Myelofibrosis Patients
SEATTLE, Feb. 28, 2022 /PRNewswire/ — CTI BioPharma Corp. (Nasdaq: CTIC) today announced the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved VONJO (pacritinib) for the treatment of adults with intermediate or high-risk primary or secondary (post-polycythemia vera or post-essential thrombocythemia) myelofibrosis with a platelet count below 50 × 109/L. VONJO is a novel oral kinase inhibitor with specificity for JAK2 and IRAK1, without inhibiting JAK1. The recommended dosage of VONJO is 200 mg orally twice daily. VONJO is the first approved therapy that specifically addresses the needs of patients with cytopenic myelofibrosis.
“Today’s approval of VONJO establishes a new standard of care for myelofibrosis patients suffering from cytopenic myelofibrosis,” said John Mascarenhas, M.D., Associate Professor, Medicine, Hematology and Medical Oncology, Tisch Cancer Institute, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York. “Myelofibrosis with severe thrombocytopenia, defined as blood platelet counts below 50 × 109/L, has been shown to result in poor survival outcomes coupled with debilitating symptoms. Limited treatment options have rendered this disease as an area of urgent unmet medical need. I am pleased to see that a new, efficacious and safe treatment option is now available for these patients.”
“In the U.S., there are approximately 21,000 patients with myelofibrosis, two-thirds of which have cytopenias (thrombocytopenia or anemia), commonly resulting from the toxicity of other approved therapies. Severe thrombocytopenia, defined as a blood platelet count below 50 × 109/L, occurs in one-third of the overall myelofibrosis population, and has a particularly poor prognosis. With the approval of VONJO, we are excited to now be able to offer a new therapy that is specifically approved for patients with cytopenic myelofibrosis. We are fully funded for commercial launch, following our debt and royalty transactions with DRI, and we look forward to providing VONJO, the potential best-in-class therapy for cytopenic myelofibrosis patients, to patients within 10 days,” said Adam R. Craig, M.D., Ph.D., President and Chief Executive Officer of CTI Biopharma. “I would like to thank the patients, caregivers, clinical trial staff and investigators who made the VONJO clinical trials possible. I am also thankful to the CTI team for their hard work and dedication and their focus on the needs of patients.”
The accelerated approval is based on efficacy results from the pivotal Phase 3 PERSIST-2 study of VONJO in patients with myelofibrosis (platelet counts less than or equal to 100 × 109/L). Patients were randomized 1:1:1 to receive VONJO 200 mg twice daily (BID), VONJO 400 mg once daily (QD) or best available therapy (BAT). Prior JAK2 inhibitor therapy was permitted. In this study, in the cohort of patients with baseline platelet counts below 50 × 109/L who were treated with pacritinib 200 mg BD, 29% of patients had a reduction in spleen volume of at least 35% compared to 3% of patients receiving best available therapy, which included ruxolitinib. As part of the accelerated approval, CTI is required to describe a clinical benefit in a confirmatory trial. To fulfil this post-approval requirement, CTI plans to complete the PACIFICA trial, with expected results in mid-2025.
Please see the entire press release below:
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