Amgen (NASDAQ:AMGN) and AstraZeneca today announced TEZSPIRE™ (tezepelumab-ekko) is now available for shipment to wholesalers in the U.S. TEZSPIRE was approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on Dec. 17, 2021 for the add-on maintenance treatment of adult and pediatric patients aged 12 years and older with severe asthma.
| THOUSAND OAKS, Calif., Jan. 13, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Amgen (NASDAQ:AMGN) and AstraZeneca today announced TEZSPIRE™ (tezepelumab-ekko) is now available for shipment to wholesalers in the U.S. TEZSPIRE was approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on Dec. 17, 2021 for the add-on maintenance treatment of adult and pediatric patients aged 12 years and older with severe asthma.1 “Severe asthma has historically been a complex disease for patients to manage and for physicians to treat,” said Murdo Gordon, executive vice president of Global Commercial Operations at Amgen. “About 60 percent of people have multiple drivers of disease and may not respond well to existing treatments. TEZSPIRE was approved for a broad population of people living with severe asthma, and we look forward to getting this important medicine into the hands of millions of patients who have had an unmet medical need.” TEZSPIRE is a first-in-class biologic for severe asthma that acts at the top of the inflammatory cascade by targeting thymic stromal lymphopoietin (TSLP), an epithelial cytokine.2 TEZSPIRE is the first and only biologic for severe asthma that does not have a phenotype—eosinophilic or allergic—or biomarker limitation within its approved label.4-11 TEZSPIRE consistently and significantly reduced asthma attacks across Phase 2 and 3 clinical trials which included a broad population of severe asthma patients irrespective of key biomarkers, including blood eosinophil counts, allergic status and fractional exhaled nitric oxide (FeNO).2,3 The most common adverse reactions (incidence ≥3% and more common than placebo) of TEZSPIRE are pharyngitis, arthralgia, and back pain.1 Amgen and AstraZeneca are committed to providing appropriate patients who are prescribed TEZSPIRE with affordable access to the medicine. The Tezspire Together Program offers provider and patient product resources and support, including information related to coverage, reimbursement and distribution. For more information about the Tezspire Together Program, call 1-888-TZSPIRE (1-888-897-7473) or visit Tezspire.com. Amgen and AstraZeneca also provide patient assistance for TEZSPIRE for qualifying individuals with no or limited drug coverage by providing free medicines through the Tezspire Patient Assistance Program. For additional information, patients and caregivers may contact Tezspire Together. TEZSPIRE™ (tezepelumab-ekko) U.S. Indication TEZSPIRE is not indicated for the relief of acute bronchospasm or status asthmaticus. TEZSPIRE™ (tezepelumab-ekko) Important Safety Information WARNINGS AND PRECAUTIONS Acute Asthma Symptoms or Deteriorating Disease Abrupt Reduction of Corticosteroid Dosage Parasitic (Helminth) Infection Live Attenuated Vaccines ADVERSE REACTIONS USE IN SPECIFIC POPULATIONS Please see the TEZSPIRE full Prescribing Information. You may report side effects related to AstraZeneca products by clicking here. About the NAVIGATOR and the PATHFINDER Clinical Trial Program NAVIGATOR is a Phase 3, randomized, double-blinded, placebo-controlled trial in adults (18–80 years old) and adolescents (12–17 years old) with severe, uncontrolled asthma, who were receiving standard of care (SoC). SoC was treatment with medium- or high-dose inhaled corticosteroids (ICS) plus at least one additional controller medication with or without daily oral corticosteroid treatment. The trial population included approximately equal proportions of patients with high (≥300 cells per microliter) and low (<300 cells per microliter) blood eosinophil counts. The trial comprised a five-to-six-week screening period, a 52-week treatment period and a 12-week post-treatment follow-up period. All patients received their prescribed controller medications without change throughout the trial.2 The primary efficacy endpoint was the AAER during the 52-week treatment period. Key secondary endpoints included the effect of TEZSPIRE on lung function, asthma control and health-related quality of life.3 As part of prespecified analyses, the AAER over 52 weeks was also assessed in patients grouped by baseline blood eosinophil count, FeNO level and serum specific immunoglobin E (IgE) status (perennial aeroallergen sensitivity positive or negative).3 These are inflammatory biomarkers used by clinicians to inform treatment options and involve tests analyzing a patient’s blood (eosinophils/IgE) and exhaled air (FeNO). The most frequently reported adverse events for TEZSPIRE were nasopharyngitis, upper respiratory tract infection and headache.2 NAVIGATOR is the first Phase 3 trial to show benefit in severe asthma irrespective of eosinophils by targeting TSLP.2 These results support the U.S. Food and Drug Administration Breakthrough Therapy Designation granted to TEZSPIRE in September 2018 for patients with severe asthma, without an eosinophilic phenotype. In July 2021, TEZSPIRE was the first and only biologic to be granted Priority Review in the U.S. for the treatment of asthma by the FDA. Patients who participated in our Phase 3 clinical trials were eligible to continue in DESTINATION, a Phase 3 extension trial assessing long-term safety and efficacy.16 About TEZSPIRE™ (tezepelumab-ekko) TEZSPIRE is also in development for other potential indications including chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, chronic rhinosinusitis with nasal polyps, chronic spontaneous urticaria and eosinophilic esophagitis (EoE). In October 2021, tezepelumab was granted Orphan Drug Designation by the FDA for the treatment of EoE. About Severe Asthma Multiple inflammatory pathways are involved in the pathogenesis of asthma.27-29 Eosinophilic asthma, and more broadly, T2 inflammation-driven asthma, accounts for about two-thirds of patients with severe asthma.29 These patients are typically characterized as having elevated levels of inflammatory biomarkers, including blood eosinophils, serum IgE and FeNO.30,31 However, many patients do not fit the criteria for eosinophilic or allergic asthma, may have unclear or multiple drivers of inflammation, and may not qualify for or respond well to a current biologic medicine.31 About the Amgen and AstraZeneca 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. Amgen is one of the 30 companies that comprise the Dow Jones Industrial Average and is also part of the Nasdaq-100 index. In 2021, Amgen was named one of the 25 World’s Best Workplaces™ by Fortune and Great Place to Work™ and one of the 100 most sustainable companies in the world by Barron’s. For more information, visit www.amgen.com and follow us on www.twitter.com/amgen. Amgen Forward-Looking Statements This news release contains forward-looking statements that are based on the current expectations and beliefs of Amgen. All statements, other than statements of historical fact, are statements that could be deemed forward-looking statements, including any statements on the outcome, benefits and synergies of collaborations, or potential collaborations, with any other company (including BeiGene, Ltd., Kyowa-Kirin Co., Ltd., or any collaboration to manufacture therapeutic antibodies against COVID-19), the performance of Otezla® (apremilast) (including anticipated Otezla sales growth and the timing of non-GAAP EPS accretion), the Five Prime Therapeutics, Inc. acquisition, or the Teneobio, Inc. acquisition, as well as estimates of revenues, operating margins, capital expenditures, cash, other financial metrics, expected legal, arbitration, political, regulatory or clinical results or practices, customer and prescriber patterns or practices, reimbursement activities and outcomes, effects of pandemics or other widespread health problems such as the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic on our business, and other such estimates and results. Forward-looking statements involve significant risks and uncertainties, including those discussed below and more fully described in the Securities and Exchange Commission reports filed by Amgen, including our most recent annual report on Form 10-K and any subsequent periodic reports on Form 10-Q and current reports on Form 8-K. Unless otherwise noted, Amgen is providing this information as of the date of this news release and does not undertake any obligation to update any forward-looking statements contained in this document as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. No forward-looking statement can be guaranteed and actual results may differ materially from those we project. Our results may be affected by our 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 our products and global economic conditions. In addition, sales of our 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, our research, testing, pricing, marketing and other operations are subject to extensive regulation by domestic and foreign government regulatory authorities. We or others could identify safety, side effects or manufacturing problems with our products, including our devices, after they are on the market. Our business may be impacted by government investigations, litigation and product liability claims. In addition, our business may be impacted by the adoption of new tax legislation or exposure to additional tax liabilities. If we fail to meet the compliance obligations in the corporate integrity agreement between us and the U.S. government, we could become subject to significant sanctions. Further, while we routinely obtain patents for our products and technology, the protection offered by our patents and patent applications may be challenged, invalidated or circumvented by our competitors, or we may fail to prevail in present and future intellectual property litigation. We perform a substantial amount of our commercial manufacturing activities at a few key facilities, including in Puerto Rico, and also depend on third parties for a portion of our manufacturing activities, and limits on supply may constrain sales of certain of our current products and product candidate development. An outbreak of disease or similar public health threat, such as COVID-19, and the public and governmental effort to mitigate against the spread of such disease, could have a significant adverse effect on the supply of materials for our manufacturing activities, the distribution of our products, the commercialization of our product candidates, and our clinical trial operations, and any such events may have a material adverse effect on our product development, product sales, business and results of operations. We rely on collaborations with third parties for the development of some of our product candidates and for the commercialization and sales of some of our commercial products. In addition, we compete with other companies with respect to many of our marketed products as well as for the discovery and development of new products. 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, some raw materials, medical devices and component parts for our products are supplied by sole third-party suppliers. Certain of our distributors, customers and payers have substantial purchasing leverage in their dealings with us. The discovery of significant problems with a product similar to one of our products that implicate an entire class of products could have a material adverse effect on sales of the affected products and on our business and results of operations. Our efforts to collaborate with or acquire other companies, products or technology, and to integrate the operations of companies or to support the products or technology we have acquired, may not be successful. A breakdown, cyberattack or information security breach could compromise the confidentiality, integrity and availability of our systems and our data. Our stock price is volatile and may be affected by a number of events. Global economic conditions may magnify certain risks that affect our business. Our business performance could affect or limit the ability of our Board of Directors to declare a dividend or our ability to pay a dividend or repurchase our common stock. We may not be able to access the capital and credit markets on terms that are favorable to us, or at all.
CONTACT: Amgen, Thousand Oaks References
SOURCE Amgen | ||
Company Codes: NASDAQ-NMS:AMGN |
View original content to download multimedia:
