Regeneron and Sanofi Win FDA Approval for Dupixent to Treat Painful Skin Disease in Elderly Patients

Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:REGN) and Sanofi today announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved Dupixent® (dupilumab) for the treatment of adult patients with bullous pemphigoid (BP).

BP primarily affects elderly patients, and is characterized by intense itch, painful blisters and lesions, as well as reddening of the skin. It can be chronic and relapsing with underlying type 2 inflammation. The blisters and rash can form over much of the body and cause the skin to bleed and break down, resulting in patients being more prone to infection and affecting their daily functioning. Available treatment options are limited and can add to overall disease burden by suppressing a patient's immune system.

"People affected by bullous pemphigoid endure unrelenting itch and painful blisters that can damage the skin. Until now, these primarily elderly patients have had limited therapeutic options available, with potential side effects that have often added to their burden," Patrick Dunn, Executive Director at the International Pemphigus and Pemphigoid Foundation. "The approval of Dupixent for bullous pemphigoid brings a novel treatment approach to patients and their caregivers, and we are grateful for the tireless efforts of the scientific community who helped us reach this critical milestone."

"Today's approval extends the remarkable ability of Dupixent to transform treatment paradigms for people living with a variety of diseases with underlying type 2 inflammation, from common conditions like asthma and atopic dermatitis, to rarer ones such as eosinophilic esophagitis and prurigo nodularis, and now including bullous pemphigoid," said George D. Yancopoulos, M.D., Ph.D., Board co-Chair, President and Chief Scientific Officer at Regeneron, and a principal inventor of Dupixent. "Dupixent has shown the potential to improve the most challenging effects of bullous pemphigoid, while helping some patients achieve sustained disease remission and decreased oral corticosteroid use. Additionally, this approval further reinforces the demonstrated safety profile of Dupixent in a broad age range of patients, from infants to elderly people, and across dermatological, respiratory and gastrointestinal diseases."

The FDA approval is based on data from the pivotal ADEPT Phase 2/3 trial that evaluated the efficacy and safety of Dupixent compared to placebo in adults with moderate-to-severe BP. Patients were randomized to receive Dupixent 300 mg (n=53) or placebo (n=53) added to standard-of-care oral corticosteroids (OCS). During treatment, all patients underwent a protocol-defined OCS tapering regimen if control of disease activity was maintained. During the FDA review, the analyses were updated; the FDA-approved results at 36 weeks in the label for Dupixent compared to placebo are:

• 18.3% of patients experienced sustained disease remission compared to 6.1% (12.2% difference; 95% confidence interval: -0.8% to 26.1%), the primary endpoint
• 38.3% of patients achieved clinically meaningful itch reduction compared to 10.5%
• Median cumulative OCS dose was 2.8 grams compared to 4.1 grams
  
   

In this elderly population, the most common adverse events (≥2%) more frequently observed in patients on Dupixent compared to placebo were arthralgia, conjunctivitis, blurred vision, herpes viral infections and keratitis. Additionally, 1 case of acute generalized exanthematous pustulosis was reported in 1 patient treated with Dupixent and 0 patients treated with placebo.