INCHEON, KOREA – January 21, 2019 – Samsung Bioepis Co., Ltd. today announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved Ontruzant (trastuzumab-dttb), a biosimilar referencing Herceptin®i (trastuzumab), across all eligible indications, namely adjuvant treatment of HER2-overexpressing breast cancer, metastatic breast cancer and metastatic gastric cancer or gastroesophageal junction adenocarcinoma in patients who have not received prior treatment for metastatic disease. Please see Boxed Warnings and Important Safety Information for Ontruzant® below.
Ontruzant® is Samsung Bioepis’ first oncology biosimilar to receive FDA approval, and will be marketed and distributed in the United States (US) by Merck, which is known as MSD outside of the US and Canada.
“For many cancer patients in the US, battling cancer has not only been a health issue, but a considerable financial burden brought on by cancer treatment. Biosimilars are intended to be lower cost, high-quality treatment options that have the potential to alleviate such burden. We sincerely hope our trastuzumab biosimilar will do exactly that,” said Sang-Jin Pak, Senior Vice President and Head of Commercial Division, Samsung Bioepis. “At Samsung Bioepis, we will continue to demonstrate our enduring commitment to biosimilars by further strengthening our pipeline and widening the availability of approved treatments for cancer patients across the US.”
Ontruzant® was also approved by the European Commission (EC) in November 2017, and has since been launched in a growing number of European countries.
About Ontruzant (trastuzumab-dttb)
Ontruzant is indicated for adjuvant treatment of HER2-overexpressing node-positive or node-negative (ER/PR-negative or with one high-risk feature*) breast cancer:
- As part of a treatment regimen containing doxorubicin, cyclophosphamide and either paclitaxel or docetaxel
- With docetaxel and carboplatin
- As a single agent following multi-modality anthracycline-based therapy
Select patients for therapy based on an FDA-approved companion diagnostic for a trastuzumab product.
* High-risk is defined as ER/PR positive with one of the following features: tumor size >2 cm, age <35 years, or tumor grade 2 or 3.
Ontruzant is indicated:
- In combination with paclitaxel for the first line treatment of HER2-overexpressing metastatic breast cancer
- As a single agent for treatment of HER2-overexpressing breast cancer in patients who have received one or more chemotherapy regimens for metastatic disease
Select patients for therapy based on an FDA-approved companion diagnostic for a trastuzumab product.
Ontruzant is indicated:
- in combination with cisplatin and capecitabine or 5-fluorouracil, for the treatment of patients with HER2 overexpressing metastatic gastric or gastroesophageal junction adenocarcinoma, who have not received prior treatment for metastatic disease.
Select patients for therapy based on an FDA-approved companion diagnostic for a trastuzumab product
Select Important Safety Information
Cardiomyopathy
- Ontruzant administration can result in sub-clinical and clinical cardiac failure manifesting as congestive heart failure and decreased left ventricular ejection fraction with greatest risk when administered concurrently with anthracyclines. Evaluate cardiac function prior to and during treatment. Discontinue Ontruzant for cardiomyopathy.
Infusion Reactions; Pulmonary Toxicity
- Administration can result in serious and fatal infusion reactions and pulmonary toxicity. Symptoms usually occur during or within 24 hours of administration. Discontinue Ontruzant for anaphylaxis, angioedema, interstitial pneumonitis, or acute respiratory distress syndrome.
Embryo-Fetal Toxicity
- Exposure to Ontruzant during pregnancy can result in oligohydramnios in some cases complicated by pulmonary hypoplasia, skeletal abnormalities, and neonatal death. Advise patients of these risks and the need for effective contraception
Exacerbation of Chemotherapy-Induced Neutropenia
- In randomized, controlled clinical trials, the per-patient incidences of NCI-CTC Grade 3-4 neutropenia and of febrile neutropenia were higher in patients receiving trastuzumab products in combination with myelosuppressive chemotherapy as compared to those who received chemotherapy alone. The incidence of septic death was similar among patients who received trastuzumab and those who did not
Most Common Adverse Reactions
- The most common adverse reactions for trastuzumab products in breast cancer were fever, nausea, vomiting, infusion reactions, diarrhea, infections, increased cough, headache, fatigue, dyspnea, rash, neutropenia, anemia, and myalgia
- The most common adverse reactions for trastuzumab products in metastatic gastric cancer were neutropenia, diarrhea, fatigue, anemia, stomatitis, weight loss, upper respiratory tract infections, fever, thrombocytopenia, mucosal inflammation, nasopharyngitis, and dysgeusia
These are not all of the risks associated with Ontruzant®. For additional information on Ontruzant® indications, as well as Important Safety Information related to its use, including Boxed WARNINGS, please see the Ontruzant® Prescribing Information HERE
About Samsung Bioepis Co., Ltd.
Established in 2012, Samsung Bioepis is a biopharmaceutical company committed to realizing healthcare that is accessible to everyone. Through innovations in product development and a firm commitment to quality, Samsung Bioepis aims to become the world’s leading biopharmaceutical company. Samsung Bioepis continues to advance a broad pipeline of biosimilar candidates that cover a spectrum of therapeutic areas, including immunology, oncology, ophthalmology and hematology. Samsung Bioepis is a joint venture between Samsung BioLogics and Biogen. For more information, please visit: www.samsungbioepis.com.
i Herceptin® is a registered trademark of Genentech Inc.
Source: Samsung Bioepis Co., Ltd.
Posted: January 2019