If approved in Europe, EVENITY will be a novel osteoporosis treatment that increases bone formation and reduces bone resorption simultaneously to increase BMD and reduce the risk of fracture.
Application Supported by Phase 3 Data in More Than 11,000 Postmenopausal Women and Men with Osteoporosis at Increased Risk of Fracture |
| [08-January-2018] |
| THOUSAND OAKS, Calif. and BRUSSELS, Jan. 7, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Amgen (NASDAQ:AMGN) and UCB (Euronext Brussels: UCB) today announced that the European Medicines Agency (EMA) has accepted the Marketing Authorization Application (MAA) for EVENITY™* (romosozumab) for the treatment of osteoporosis in postmenopausal women and in men at increased risk of fracture. If approved in Europe, EVENITY will be a novel osteoporosis treatment that increases bone formation and reduces bone resorption simultaneously to increase bone mineral density (BMD) and reduce the risk of fracture. “Amgen has a legacy of addressing the needs of patients with osteoporosis, and EVENITY has the potential to deliver fracture risk reduction to patients,” said Sean E. Harper, M.D., executive vice president of Research and Development at Amgen. “Together with UCB, we look forward to discussing the overall benefit:risk with European regulatory authorities.” The MAA for EVENITY is based on results from three pivotal Phase 3 studies: FRAME, including 7,180 postmenopausal women with osteoporosis; ARCH, including 4,093 postmenopausal women with osteoporosis at high risk for fracture; and BRIDGE, including 245 men with osteoporosis. The agency will evaluate the clinical benefit:risk profile of EVENITY in these three pivotal studies, including the potential to increase BMD and reduce the risk of fractures in women with osteoporosis, as well as the cardiovascular safety signal seen in the ARCH study. “We are currently seeing a large gap in the management and treatment of osteoporosis, especially in the post-fracture setting, with an estimated four out of five patients remaining undiagnosed and untreated after a fracture.1 Without adequate management, some fragility fractures may lead to a loss of autonomy in patients’ daily lives,” said Dr. Pascale Richetta, head of bone and executive vice president, UCB. “At UCB, we are striving to help patients avoid potentially debilitating fractures and to help close this concerning gap.” About EVENITY™* (romosozumab) About the Pivotal EVENITY Clinical Trials ARCH (Active-contRolled fraCture study in postmenopausal women with osteoporosis at High risk of fracture) is a randomized, double-blind, alendronate-controlled study of EVENITY in 4,093 postmenopausal women with osteoporosis at high risk for fracture based on previous fracture history. The study evaluated 12 months of EVENITY treatment (210 mg) followed by at least 12 months of alendronate treatment (70 mg), compared with alendronate treatment alone, to determine effectiveness in reducing the incidence of clinical fracture (non-vertebral fracture and clinical vertebral fracture) and new vertebral fracture. BRIDGE (placeBo-contRolled study evaluatIng the efficacy anD safety of romosozumab in treatinG mEn with osteoporosis) is a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study of 245 men aged 55-90 years with osteoporosis and a history of fragility fracture (excluding hip fracture) or vertebral fracture. The study evaluated the effectiveness of EVENITY treatment for 12 months, compared with placebo, in increasing bone mineral density (BMD) at the lumbar spine and the effect on BMD at the femoral neck and total hip. About Osteoporosis About the Amgen and UCB Collaboration About Amgen Amgen focuses on areas of high unmet medical need and leverages its expertise to strive for solutions that improve health outcomes and dramatically improve people’s lives. A biotechnology pioneer since 1980, Amgen has grown to be one of the world’s leading independent biotechnology companies, has reached millions of patients around the world and is developing a pipeline of medicines with breakaway potential. For more information, visit www.amgen.com and follow us on www.twitter.com/amgen. About UCB Amgen Forward-Looking Statements No forward-looking statement can be guaranteed and actual results may differ materially from those Amgen projects. Discovery or identification of new product candidates or development of new indications for existing products cannot be guaranteed and movement from concept to product is uncertain; consequently, there can be no guarantee that any particular product candidate or development of a new indication for an existing product will be successful and become a commercial product. Further, preclinical results do not guarantee safe and effective performance of product candidates in humans. The complexity of the human body cannot be perfectly, or sometimes, even adequately modeled by computer or cell culture systems or animal models. The length of time that it takes for Amgen to complete clinical trials and obtain regulatory approval for product marketing has in the past varied and Amgen expects similar variability in the future. Even when clinical trials are successful, regulatory authorities may question the sufficiency for approval of the trial endpoints Amgen has selected. Amgen develops product candidates internally and through licensing collaborations, partnerships and joint ventures. Product candidates that are derived from relationships may be subject to disputes between the parties or may prove to be not as effective or as safe as Amgen may have believed at the time of entering into such relationship. Also, Amgen or others could identify safety, side effects or manufacturing problems with its products, including its devices, after they are on the market. Amgen’s results may be affected by its ability to successfully market both new and existing products domestically and internationally, clinical and regulatory developments involving current and future products, sales growth of recently launched products, competition from other products including biosimilars, difficulties or delays in manufacturing its products and global economic conditions. In addition, sales of Amgen’s products are affected by pricing pressure, political and public scrutiny and reimbursement policies imposed by third-party payers, including governments, private insurance plans and managed care providers and may be affected by regulatory, clinical and guideline developments and domestic and international trends toward managed care and healthcare cost containment. Furthermore, Amgen’s research, testing, pricing, marketing and other operations are subject to extensive regulation by domestic and foreign government regulatory authorities. Amgen’s business may be impacted by government investigations, litigation and product liability claims. In addition, Amgen’s business may be impacted by the adoption of new tax legislation or exposure to additional tax liabilities. If Amgen fails to meet the compliance obligations in the corporate integrity agreement between it and the U.S. government, Amgen could become subject to significant sanctions. Further, while Amgen routinely obtains patents for its products and technology, the protection offered by its patents and patent applications may be challenged, invalidated or circumvented by its competitors, or Amgen may fail to prevail in present and future intellectual property litigation. Amgen performs a substantial amount of its commercial manufacturing activities at a few key manufacturing facilities, including in Puerto Rico, and also depends on third parties for a portion of its manufacturing activities, and limits on supply may constrain sales of certain of its current products and product candidate development. In addition, Amgen competes with other companies with respect to many of its marketed products as well as for the discovery and development of new products. Further, some raw materials, medical devices and component parts for Amgen’s products are supplied by sole third-party suppliers. Certain of Amgen’s distributors, customers and payers have substantial purchasing leverage in their dealings with Amgen. The discovery of significant problems with a product similar to one of Amgen’s products that implicate an entire class of products could have a material adverse effect on sales of the affected products and on its business and results of operations. Amgen’s efforts to acquire other companies or products and to integrate the operations of companies Amgen has acquired may not be successful. Amgen may not be able to access the capital and credit markets on terms that are favorable to it, or at all. Amgen is increasingly dependent on information technology systems, infrastructure and data security. Amgen’s stock price may be volatile and may be affected by a number of events. Amgen’s business performance could affect or limit the ability of the Amgen Board of Directors to declare a dividend or its ability to pay a dividend or repurchase its common stock. The scientific information discussed in this news release related to Amgen’s product candidates is preliminary and investigative. Such product candidates are not approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, and no conclusions can or should be drawn regarding the safety or effectiveness of the product candidates. UCB Forward-Looking Statements Additionally, information contained in this document shall not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy any securities, nor shall there be any offer, solicitation or sale of securities in any jurisdiction in which such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful prior to the registration or qualification under the securities laws of such jurisdiction. UCB is providing this information as of the date of this presentation and expressly disclaims any duty to update any information contained in this press release, either to confirm the actual results or to report a change in its expectations. There is no guarantee that new product candidates in the pipeline will progress to product approval or that new indications for existing products will be developed and approved. Products or potential products which are the subject of partnerships, joint ventures or licensing collaborations may be subject to differences between the partners. Also, UCB or others could discover safety, side effects or manufacturing problems with its products after they are marketed. Moreover, sales may be impacted by international and domestic trends toward managed care and health care cost containment and the reimbursement policies imposed by third-party payers as well as legislation affecting biopharmaceutical pricing and reimbursement. *The trademark EVENITY™ is provisionally approved for use by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and the European Medicines Agency. CONTACT: Amgen, Thousand Oaks CONTACT: UCB, Brussels
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Company Codes: NASDAQ-NMS:AMGN, EuronextBrussels:UCB, OTC-PINK:UCBJY |
