Atherosclerosis. Source: Nephron http://bit.ly/jL6Zos
In our November 20, 2012 Biopharmconsortium Blog article, entitled “Novel hypercholesterolemia drugs move toward FDA decisions”, we discussed two drugs–Aegerion Pharmaceuticals’ lomitapide, and Isis/Sanofi/Genzyme’s mipomersen. These drugs were nearing approval decisions by the FDA, following the recommendations of the FDA’s Endocrinologic and Metabolic Drugs Advisory Committee that both drugs be approved for treatment of homozygous familial hypercholesterolemia (HoFH).
In our December 31, 2012 blog article, we reported that the FDA had approved Aegerion’s small-molecule drug lomitapide (Juxtapid). That left us waiting for “the other shoe to drop”–the decision on the approval of mipomersen.
On January 29, 2013, Genzyme (a Sanofi company) and Isis Pharmaceuticals (Carlsbad, CA) reported that the FDA had approved mipomersen (Kynamro) for the treatment of HoFH. Mipomersen, given as a 200 mg weekly subcutaneous injection, has been approved as an adjunct to lipid-lowering medications and diet for the treatment of dyslipidemia in patients with HoFH. In contrast to mipomersen, Aegerion’s lomitapide is an oral drug.
The approval of mipomersen triggered a $25 million milestone payment to Isis from Genzyme.
MIpomersen is an antisense oligonucleotide that targets the messenger RNA for apolipoprotein B. This agent represents the first oligonucleotide drug capable of systemic delivery to be approved in a regulated market. (The two previously marketed oligonucleotide drugs both treat ophthalmologic diseases and are delivered locally.) Mipomersen targets the liver, without the need for a delivery vehicle. Thus mipomersen represents the “great hope” for proof-of-concept for oligonucleotide drugs, including antisense and RNAi-based drugs.
In the January 29, 2013 press release, Stanley T. Crooke, M.D., Ph.D., Chairman of the Board and CEO of Isis, said:
“Kynamro is the first systemic antisense drug to reach the market and is the culmination of two decades of work to create a new, more efficient drug technology platform. As evidenced by our robust pipeline, our antisense drug discovery technology is applicable to many different diseases.” This indicates that Isis considers the approval of mipomersen as a proof-of-concept for its approach to antisense oligonucleotide drug discovery and development, and in particular for its pipeline.
Clinical trials of mipomersen
The FDA approval of mipomersen is based on the results of a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, multi-center trial that enrolled 51 HoFH patients age 12 to 53 years, including 7 patients age 12 to 16 years, who were on lipid lowering medications. The trial found that mipomersen treatment further reduced LDL-cholesterol levels by an average of 113 mg/dL, or 25%, from a treated baseline of 439 mg/dL, and further reduced all measured endpoints for atherogenic particles. In March 2010, these data were published in The Lancet.
Safely data for mipomersen are based on pooled results from four Phase 3 trials. Eighteen percent of patients on the drug and 2% of patients on placebo discontinued treatment due to adverse effects. The most common adverse effects of mipomersen treatment were injection site reactions, increases in the liver enzymes alanine aminotransferase (ALT) and aspartate aminotransferase (AST) , flu-like symptoms, and an abnormal liver function test.
As a result of these safety findings, the label for Kynamro contains a Boxed Warning citing the risk of hepatic toxicity. The label for Aegerion’s Juxtapid (lomitapide) also contains such a Boxed Warning. A Boxed Warning is the strongest warning that the FDA requires.
The FDA is also requiring four postmarketing studies of mipomersen, and wants the developers to carefully track the long-term safety of the drug.
As an antisense drug, mipomersen is metabolized without affecting the CYP450 pathways used in commonly prescribed drugs. It thus is potentially free of drug-drug interactions. No clinically relevant pharmacokinetic interactions were reported between mipomersen and warfarin, or between mipomersen and simvastatin or ezetimibe.
The safety and effectiveness of mipomersen have not been established in patients with hypercholesterolemia who do not have HoFH. Nor has the effect of mipomersen on cardiovascular morbidity and mortality been determined.
Because of the risk of hepatotoxicity, mipomersen is available only through a Risk Evaluation and Mitigation Strategy (REMS) called the Kynamro REMS. The goals of the REMS are:
- To educate prescribers about the risk of hepatotoxicity associated with the use of mipomersen, and the need to monitor patients during treatment with mipomersen as per product labeling.
- To restrict access to therapy with mipomersen to patients with a clinical or laboratory diagnosis consistent with homozygous familial hypercholesterolemia (HoFH).
Genzyme has also developed an HoFH and Kynamro support program for healthcare providers, patients, and their families.
Wider implications of the FDA approval of mipomersen
Mipomersen achieved FDA approval despite an unenthusiastic 9-6 recommendation for approval by the FDA’s Endocrinologic and Metabolic Drugs Advisory Committee. This compares to a 13-2 vote to recommend approval of lomitapide. Meanwhile, mipomersen received a negative opinion from a European Medicines Agency panel. And it faces strong competition in the market from lomitapide. Therefore, mipomersen is unlikely to become a large-selling drug.
Nevertheless, Sanofi has been positioning itself around Genzyme (and its rare disease platform) in its drug discovery and development strategy. Therefore, any and all Genzyme/Sanofi drug approvals represent important victories.
Although the FDA Advisory Committee and industry commentators favor lomitapide over mipomersen, they also believe that not all patients with HoFH would be likely to benefit from only one drug. Thus having two alternative drugs may well be better in treating this disease.
Does the approval of mipomersen herald a new age of oligonucleotide drugs? The first antisense agent to reach the market, fomivirsen (Isis/ Novartis Ophthalmics’ Vitravene), which is indicated for treatment of cytomegalovirus retinitis in AIDS patients was approved in 1998. However, it is delivered locally to the eye, and has not been profitable.
Even though mipomersen is unlikely to become a large-selling drug, it could become the first commercially successful antisense agent. As stated by Arthur Krieg, M.D., chief executive of RaNA Therapeutics, “What many people have been waiting for is validation where someone actually makes a profit and where patients actually benefit.”
As we have discussed in earlier blog posts, oligonucleotide drugs (especially antisense and RNAi) represent a premature technology. It is therefore not unusual that it would take over 20 years for the first profitable drug in this class to reach the market. This was also recently stated by Dr. Crooke.
Finally, as we stated in our November 20, 2012 blog article:
For oligonucleotide drug developers and enthusiasts, the case of mipomersen–considered the “great hope” for proof-of-concept for oligonucleotide drugs by many in the field–provides several lessons. 1. At the end of the day, oligonucleotide drugs must meet the same standards of safety and efficacy as other drugs. 2. Oligonucleotide drugs may encounter competition from drugs in other classes, such as small molecules or monoclonal antibodies.
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