Results from phase III open label extension trial of Dupixent for children aged 6 to 11 years with moderate to severe asthma.- Regeneron + Sanofi

Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, Inc .and Sanofi announced results from a Phase III open-label extension trial demonstrating the efficacy and safety profile of Dupixent (dupilumab) as a maintenance therapy when added to other asthma medications was consistent for up to two years in children aged 6 to 11 years with uncontrolled moderate-to-severe asthma with evidence of type 2 inflammation.

These results were presented in a late-breaking session at the 2022 European Respiratory Society (ERS) International Congress, which coincides with the milestone that more than 500,000 people around the world have been treated with Dupixent across all of its approved indications.

"Children with uncontrolled moderate-to-severe asthma may experience long-term persistent coughing, difficulty breathing, unpredictable asthma attacks and impaired lung function, which can lead to complications later in life as they grow and develop," said Leonard B. Bacharier, M.D., Professor of Pediatrics and Director of the Center for Pediatric Asthma Research, Monroe Carell Jr. Children's Hospital at Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville, Tennessee, and principal investigator of the trial. "An established safety profile balanced with efficacy is always a priority when treating children with a chronic disease, such as those with uncontrolled moderate-to-severe asthma with an eosinophilic phenotype or oral corticosteroid dependent asthma. These new data further support the consistent safety profile of long-term Dupixent - which is indicated for the treatment of uncontrolled moderate-to-severe asthma with an eosinophilic phenotype or oral corticosteroid dependent asthma - and its ability to provide sustained improvements in lung function and reductions in asthma exacerbations in children as young as 6 years old."

The results are from data in children who entered the extension trial after finishing active treatment or placebo in the Phase III trial (pivotal trial). Children in the extension trial were treated for up to an additional year with Dupixent, providing up to two years of data in total. Children treated with Dupixent in the extension trial experienced a: i. Low rate of severe asthma attacks with an average of 0.118-0.124 events per year, compared to 2.16-2.56 events per year at baseline in the pivotal trial. ii. Sustained improvement in lung function at 52 weeks of 9.43-12.6 percentage points from baseline in the pivotal trial, measured by percent predicted FEV1 (FEV1pp). FEV1pp seeks to evaluate a patient's change in lung function compared to their predicted lung function based on age, height, sex and ethnicity to account for children's growing lung capacity at different stages of development. a. Children who switched from placebo in the pivotal trial to Dupixent in the extension trial demonstrated improvement of 8.71 percentage points in lung function at two weeks.

The safety results of the trial were generally consistent with the known safety profile of Dupixent in its approved respiratory indications. Over the 52-week treatment period, the overall rates of adverse events (AEs) were 61-68%. The most common AEs ( greater than 5%) were nasopharyngitis (9-10%), pharyngitis (6-10%), upper respiratory tract infection (4-8%), influenza (5-6%), eosinophilia (3-6%), allergic rhinitis (3-7%), diarrhea (4-6%) and injection site reactions (3-7%).

About the LIBERTY ASTHMA EXCURSION Trial : The Phase III, multicenter, open-label extension trial evaluated the long-term safety and efficacy of Dupixent in 365 children with uncontrolled moderate-to-severe asthma who had previously participated in the placebo-controlled VOYAGE trial (the pivotal trial) when they were 6 to 11 years of age. Based on body weight, patients in the open-label extension trial received Dupixent 100 mg or 200 mg every two weeks or Dupixent 300 mg every four weeks, for 52 weeks. The primary endpoint assessed the number of patients experiencing any treatment emergent adverse event. Secondary endpoints included the annualized rate of severe asthma exacerbations over one year and change from pivotal trial baseline in FEV1pp.