Jun 24, 2021
  • VISION manuscript shows that 177Lu-PSMA-617 plus standard of care (SOC) significantly improved overall survival and radiographic progression-free survival for patients with metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer (mCRPC) compared to SOC alone1
  • US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) granted Breakthrough Therapy designation to 177Lu-PSMA-617; regulatory submissions to US and EU Health Authorities on track for 2H21
  • Novartis is a global leader in radioligand therapy, uniquely positioned with broad commercial experience, established manufacturing and supply chain capabilities, and extensive development expertise.

Basel, June 23, 2021 — VISION data published today in The New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM) shows that 177Lu-PSMA-617 plus standard of care (SOC) significantly improved both overall survival (HR = 0.62 [95% CI: 0.52−0.74]; P<0.001; median 15.3 vs 11.3 months) and imaging-based progression-free survival (HR = 0.40 [99.2% CI: 0.29−0.57]; P<0.001; median, 8.7 vs 3.4 months) versus SOC alone in patients with progressive PSMA-positive mCRPC1. VISION data were first presented at the 2021 American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) Annual Meeting on June 6 (see media release).

“We are proud of these data showing that 177Lu-PSMA-617 can significantly shrink tumors and extend life for patients with prostate cancer, who have been heavily pre-treated and currently have limited treatment options,” said Jeff Legos, Global Head of Oncology Development, Novartis. “We believe that radioligand therapy with 177Lu-PSMA-617 has great potential to improve outcomes in advanced prostate cancer and have already started two new Phase III studies in earlier lines of treatment.”

Other data highlighted in the publication and ASCO presentation:

  • Median time to first symptomatic skeletal event or death was 11.5 months in the 177Lu-PSMA-617 plus SOC arm versus 6.8 months in the SOC only arm (P<0.001; α=0.05; HR = 0.50 [95% CI: 0.40, 0.62])1
  • Overall response rate in patients with measurable or non-measurable disease at baseline was 29.8% partial or complete response in the 177Lu-PSMA-617 plus SOC arm compared to 1.7% partial response in the SOC only arm (two-sided p-value: <0.001)1
  • The incidence of grade ≥3 treatment-emergent adverse effects was 52.7% in the 177Lu-PSMA-617 plus SOC arm vs 38.0% in the SOC only arm1
  • Serious drug-related treatment emergent adverse events occurred in 9.3% of patients in the 177Lu-PSMA-617 plus SOC arm compared to 2.4% in the SOC only arm2

Two additional studies with 177Lu-PSMA-617 radioligand therapy in earlier lines of treatment for metastatic prostate cancer are ongoing, investigating potential clinical utility in the mCRPC pre-taxane setting (PSMAfore) and in the metastatic hormone-sensitive setting (PSMAddition). Novartis is also evaluating opportunities to investigate 177Lu-PSMA-617 radioligand therapy in earlier stages of prostate cancer.

The NEJM publication is available online at www.NEJM.org

About 177Lu-PSMA-617
177Lu-PSMA-617 is an investigational PSMA-targeted radioligand therapy for metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer. It is a type of precision cancer treatment combining a targeting compound (ligand) with a therapeutic radioisotope (a radioactive particle)3-5. After administration into the bloodstream, 177Lu-PSMA-617 binds to prostate cancer cells that express PSMA6, a transmembrane protein, with high tumor-to-normal tissue uptake3,7,8. Once bound, emissions from the radioisotope damage tumor cells, disrupting their ability to replicate and/or triggering cell death9-11. The radiation from the radioisotope works over very short distances to limit damage to surrounding cells1,3,7.

About VISION
VISION is an international, prospective, randomized, open-label, multicenter, phase III study to assess the efficacy and safety of 177Lu-PSMA-617 (7.4 GBq administered by intravenous infusion every 6 weeks for a maximum of 6 cycles) plus investigator-chosen standard of care in the investigational arm, versus standard of care in the control arm1. Patients with PSMA PET-scan positive mCRPC, and progression after prior taxane and androgen receptor pathway inhibitors, were randomized in a 2:1 ratio in favor of the investigational arm1. The alternate primary endpoints were rPFS and OS1. The study enrolled 831 patients1.

Disclaimer
This investor update contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the United States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements can generally be identified by words such as “potential,” “can,” “will,” “plan,” “may,” “could,” “would,” “expect,” “anticipate,” “seek,” “look forward,” “believe,” “committed,” “investigational,” “pipeline,” “launch,” or similar terms, or by express or implied discussions regarding potential marketing approvals, new indications or labeling for the investigational or approved products described in this press release, or regarding potential future revenues from such products. You should not place undue reliance on these statements. Such forward-looking statements are based on our current beliefs and expectations regarding future events, and are subject to significant known and unknown risks and uncertainties. Should one or more of these risks or uncertainties materialize, or should underlying assumptions prove incorrect, actual results may vary materially from those set forth in the forward-looking statements. There can be no guarantee that the investigational or approved products described in this press release will be submitted or approved for sale or for any additional indications or labeling in any market, or at any particular time. Nor can there be any guarantee that such products will be commercially successful in the future. In particular, our expectations regarding such products could be affected by, among other things, the uncertainties inherent in research and development, including clinical trial results and additional analysis of existing clinical data; regulatory actions or delays or government regulation generally; global trends toward health care cost containment, including government, payor and general public pricing and reimbursement pressures and requirements for increased pricing transparency; our ability to obtain or maintain proprietary intellectual property protection; the particular prescribing preferences of physicians and patients; general political, economic and business conditions, including the effects of and efforts to mitigate pandemic diseases such as COVID-19; safety, quality, data integrity or manufacturing issues; potential or actual data security and data privacy breaches, or disruptions of our information technology systems, and other risks and factors referred to in Novartis AG’s current Form 20-F on file with the US Securities and Exchange Commission. Novartis is providing the information in this press release as of this date and does not undertake any obligation to update any forward-looking statements contained in this press release as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

About Novartis
Novartis is reimagining medicine to improve and extend people’s lives. As a leading global medicines company, we use innovative science and digital technologies to create transformative treatments in areas of great medical need. In our quest to find new medicines, we consistently rank among the world’s top companies investing in research and development. Novartis products reach nearly 800 million people globally and we are finding innovative ways to expand access to our latest treatments. About 110,000 people of more than 140 nationalities work at Novartis around the world. Find out more at https://www.novartis.com.

Novartis is on Twitter. Sign up to follow @Novartis at https://twitter.com/novartisnews
For Novartis multimedia content, please visit https://www.novartis.com/news/media-library
For questions about the site or required registration, please contact [email protected]

References

  1. Sartor O, de Bono J, Chi KN, et al. Lutetium-177-PSMA-617 for metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer. New England Journal of Medicine 2021. doi: 10.1056/NEJMoa2107322
  2. Morris M, et al. Phase 3 study of 177Lu-PSMA-617 in patients with metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer (VISION). Oral presentation at: ASCO Annual Meeting; June 6, 2021
  3. Kratochwil C, Giesel FL, Stefanova M, et al. PSMA-targeted radionuclide therapy of metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer with 177Lu-labeled PSMA-617. J Nucl Med 2016;57(8):1170–6 [https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/26985056/]
  4. Eder M, Schäfer M, Bauder-Wüst U, et al. 68Ga-complex lipophilicity and the targeting property of a urea-based PSMA inhibitor for PET imaging. Bioconjug Chem 2012;23(4):688–97.
  5. Benešová M, Schäfer M, Bauder-Wüst U, et al. Preclinical evaluation of a tailor-made DOTA-conjugated PSMA inhibitor with optimized linker moiety for imaging and endoradiotherapy of prostate cancer. J Nucl Med 2015;56(6):914–20
  6. Haberkorn U, Eder M, Kopka K, et al. New Strategies in Prostate Cancer: Prostate-Specific Membrane Antigen (PSMA) Ligands for Diagnosis and Therapy. Clin Cancer Res 22(1):9-15.2016
  7. Violet J, Jackson P, Ferdinandus J et al. Dosimetry of (177)Lu-PSMA-617 in metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer: correlations between pretherapeutic imaging and whole-body tumor dosimetry with treatment outcomes. J Nucl Med 2019;60(4):517–23
  8. Current K, Meyer C, Magyar CE et al. Investigating PSMA-targeted radioligand therapy efficacy as a function of cellular PSMA levels and intra-tumoral PSMA heterogeneity. Clin Cancer Res 2020;26(12):2946–55
  9. Kassis A. Therapeutic Radionuclides: Biophysical and Radiobiologic Principles. Semin Nucl Med. 2008; 38(5): 358–366
  10. Fendler W, Stuparu A, et al. Establishing 177Lu-PSMA-617 Radioligand Therapy in a Syngeneic Model of Murine Prostate Cancer. J Nucl Med 2017; 58: 1786–1792
  11. Ruigrok E, van Vliet N, et al. Extensive preclinical evaluation of lutetium-177-labeled PSMA-specific tracers for prostate cancer radionuclide therapy. Eur J Nucl Med Mol Imaging. 2020; 48: 1339-1350

# # #

Novartis Media Relations
E-mail: [email protected]

Anja von Treskow
Novartis External Communications
+41 79 392 8697
[email protected]

 

Julie Masow
Novartis US External Engagement
+1 862 579 8456
[email protected]
Rachel Levine
Advanced Accelerator Applications, a Novartis Company
+1 917 375 2935
[email protected]

Novartis Investor Relations
Central investor relations line: +41 61 324 7944
E-mail: [email protected]

Central North America 
Samir Shah+41 61 324 7944Sloan Simpson+1 862 778 5052
Thomas Hungerbuehler+41 61 324 8425  
Isabella Zinck+41 61 324 7188