ChemoCentryx Announces Publication in The New England Journal of Medicine of Results of the Pivotal Phase III ADVOCATE Trial of Avacopan for the Treatment of ANCA-Associated Vasculitis
-- Treatment with avacopan in the absence of daily oral prednisone led to remission at week 26 and superiority in sustaining remission at 52 weeks compared to the prednisone group --
-- Avacopan’s effects on kidney function, patient Quality of Life, and reduction in overall glucocorticoid-related toxicities also described --
-- NDA for avacopan in ANCA-Associated Vasculitis is under review by the FDA with a PDUFA goal date of
ANCA-associated vasculitis is a systemic auto-immune disease in which over-activation of the complement system further activates neutrophils, leading to inflammation and eventual destruction of small blood vessels. This results in organ damage and failure, with the kidney as the major target, and is fatal if not treated.
“The results of the ADVOCATE trial are transformational and demonstrate the potential of avacopan to offer a substantial change in the treatment paradigm for ANCA-associated vasculitis,” said
“The ADVOCATE trial clearly demonstrates avacopan’s ability to improve kidney function, measured by eGFR, in ANCA-associated vasculitis, and was recently reinforced in another orphan kidney disease, C3 Glomerulopathy. This is a significant advantage over other treatment options that often come with added toxicities and will likely lead to reduced risk of kidney failure over the longer term,” said
The ADVOCATE trial was a global, randomized, double-blind, active-controlled, double-dummy Phase III trial in 331 patients with ANCA-associated vasculitis in 20 countries. Eligible patients were randomized to receive either avacopan or oral prednisone. In addition, all patients received standard background therapy of either: (a) rituximab for 4 weeks; or (b) cyclophosphamide for 13 weeks followed by azathioprine/mycophenolate, evenly balanced between the avacopan and prednisone groups.
The study met both of its primary endpoints, demonstrating disease remission at 26 weeks and sustained remission at 52 weeks, as assessed by the Birmingham Vasculitis Activity Score (BVAS). Specifically, BVAS remission at week 26 was achieved in 72.3% of the avacopan treated patients vs. 70.1% of subjects in the prednisone group (p<0.0001 for non-inferiority). Sustained remission at 52 weeks was observed in 65.7% of the avacopan treated subjects vs. 54.9% in the prednisone group, achieving both non-inferiority and superiority to the prednisone group (p=0.007 for superiority of avacopan).
Additionally, results published in the NEJM also show that, compared to the prednisone group, avacopan treatment:
- Reduced the risk of vasculitis relapse by 54%; there was a 10.1% relapse rate in the avacopan group compared to 21.0% in the prednisone group.
- Demonstrated greater improvement in kidney function, with a mean increase from baseline to week 52 in estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) of 7.3 mL/min/1.73 m2 with avacopan therapy vs. an increase in eGFR of 4.1 mL/min/1.73 m2 in the prednisone group, and the difference between groups was 3.2 mL/min/1.73 m2 (95% CI, 0.3 to 6.1).
- Significantly lowered glucocorticoid toxicity, with avacopan therapy 39.7 vs. 56.6 in the prednisone group in the Glucocorticoid Toxicity Index (GTI) Cumulative Worsening Score with a difference between groups of −16.8 points (95% CI, −25.6 to −8.0), and 11.2 with avacopan therapy vs. 23.4 for the prednisone group in the GTI Aggregate Improvement Score, with a difference between groups of −12.1 points (95% CI, −21.1 to −3.2).
- Led to greater improvement in health-related quality of life, measured by the Short Form 36 (SF-36) version 2 and the EuroQOL-5D-5L instrument (both Visual Analogue Scale and EQ Index), compared to the prednisone group.
Avacopan demonstrated favorable safety results in this serious and life-threatening disease, with fewer subjects having serious adverse events in the avacopan group than in the prednisone group.
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About ADVOCATE and ANCA-Associated Vasculitis
The ADVOCATE trial of avacopan was a global, randomized, double-blind, active-controlled, double-dummy Phase III trial of 331 patients with ANCA-associated vasculitis in 20 countries. Eligible study subjects were randomized to receive avacopan plus either rituximab or cyclophosphamide (followed by azathioprine/mycophenolate) or prednisone plus either rituximab or cyclophosphamide (followed by azathioprine/mycophenolate).
ANCA-associated vasculitis is a systemic disease in which over-activation of the complement pathway further activates neutrophils, leading to inflammation and destruction of small blood vessels. This results in organ damage and failure, with the kidney as the major target, and is fatal if not treated. Currently, treatment for ANCA-associated vasculitis consists of courses of non-specific immuno-suppressants (cyclophosphamide or rituximab), combined with the administration of daily glucocorticoids (steroids) for prolonged periods of time, which can be associated with significant clinical risk including death from infection.
About Avacopan
Avacopan is a first-in-class, orally-administered small molecule that employs a novel, highly targeted mode of action in the treatment of ANCA-associated vasculitis and other complement-driven autoimmune and inflammatory diseases. By precisely blocking the receptor (the C5aR) for the pro-inflammatory complement system fragment known as C5a on destructive inflammatory cells such as blood neutrophils, avacopan arrests the ability of those cells to do damage in response to C5a activation, which is known to be the driver of ANCA-associated vasculitis. Current therapies for ANCA-associated vasculitis and other related illnesses typically include broad immunosuppression with daily doses of glucocorticoids (steroids) such as prednisone or methylprednisone, which can cause significant illness and even death. Avacopan therapy was designed to prevent these outcomes. Moreover, avacopan’s selective inhibition of only the C5aR leaves the beneficial C5a pathway through the C5L2 receptor functioning normally.
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