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Bristol-Myers Squibb Receives Positive CHMP Opinion for Daklinza® (daclatasvir) for Treatment of Chronic Hepatitis C in the European Union
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Daklinza in combination with other agents would offer a potential cure for HCV patients with high unmet needs who urgently require treatment, if approved
(PRINCETON, N.J., June 27, 2014) -- Bristol-Myers Squibb Company (NYSE:BMY) today announced that the Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use (CHMP) of the European Medicines Agency (EMA) has adopted a positive opinion recommending that Daklinza® (daclatasvir), an investigational, potent pan-genotypic NS5A complex inhibitor (in vitro), be granted approval for use in combination with other medicinal products for the treatment of chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection in adults. This is the first positive opinion given by the CHMP for an NS5A complex inhibitor and will now be reviewed by the European Commission, which has the authority to approve medicines for the European Union (EU).
"Through Bristol-Myers Squibb's Early Access Programs in Europe more than 2,000 HCV patients with advanced liver disease have already been treated with Daklinza, in combination with sofosbuvir," said Elliott Levy, Head of Specialty Development, Bristol-Myers Squibb. "We anticipate that, if approved, Daklinza-based regimens will play a significant role in treating HCV patients with high unmet medical needs across Europe."
Recently included in the European Association for the Study of the Liver's (EASL) clinical practice guidelines for the management of HCV infection across genotypes, the EU marketing authorization application for Daklinza has gone through an accelerated review process. The positive CHMP opinion was based on data from multiple studies of Daklinza with other HCV agents, including sofosbuvir, for the treatment of chronic hepatitis C.
Applications for Daklinza-based regimens are also pending in Japan and the U.S. A decision from Japan's Pharmaceutical and Medical Devices Agency is expected soon, and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has granted priority review status and set a target review date under the Prescription Drug User Fee Act (PDUFA) of November 30, 2014.
Ongoing and completed Daklinza studies have included more than 5,500 patients in a variety of all-oral regimens and with the current interferon-based standard of care. Across clinical studies, Daklinza-based regimens have been generally well tolerated with low rates of discontinuations across a range of patients.
About Hepatitis C
Globally, there are 150 million people infected with HCV and of that, an estimated 9 million people are living with hepatitis C in the European Union (EU). Hepatitis C is a virus that infects the liver and is transmitted through direct contact with infected blood and blood products. Up to 90 percent of those infected with hepatitis C will not spontaneously clear the virus and will become chronically infected. According to the World Health Organization, 20 percent of people with chronic hepatitis C will develop cirrhosis and, of those, about 5 to 7 percent of patients may ultimately die of the consequences of infection.
About Bristol-Myers Squibb's HCV Portfolio
Bristol-Myers Squibb's research efforts are focused on advancing late-stage compounds to deliver the most value to patients with hepatitis C. At the core of our pipeline is daclatasvir, an investigational, potent pan-genotypic NS5A complex inhibitor (in vitro), which continues to be investigated in multiple treatment regimens and in people with co-morbidities.
Daclatasvir is being studied in combination with sofosbuvir in high unmet need patients, such as pre- and post-transplant patients, HIV/HCV co-infected patients, and patients with genotype 3, as part of the ongoing Phase III ALLY Program.
In 2014, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) granted Bristol-Myers Squibb's investigational Daclatasvir Dual Regimen (daclatasvir + asunaprevir) Breakthrough Therapy Designation for use as a combination therapy in the treatment of genotype 1b HCV infection.
In 2013, Bristol-Myers Squibb's investigational all-oral 3DAA Regimen (daclatasvir/asunaprevir/BMS-791325) also received Breakthrough Therapy Designation in the U.S., which helped to expedite the start of the ongoing Phase III UNITY Program. Study populations include non-cirrhotic na•ve, cirrhotic na•ve and previously treated patients. The daclatasvir 3DAA regimen is being studied as a fixed-dose-combination treatment with twice daily dosing.
About Bristol-Myers Squibb
Bristol-Myers Squibb is a global biopharmaceutical company whose mission is to discover, develop and deliver innovative medicines that help patients prevail over serious diseases. For more information, please visit http://www.bms.com or follow us on Twitter at http://twitter.com/bmsnews.
Bristol-Myers Squibb Forward Looking Statement
This press release contains "forward-looking statements" as that term is defined in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 regarding the research, development and commercialization of pharmaceutical products. Such forward-looking statements are based on current expectations and involve inherent risks and uncertainties, including factors that could delay, divert or change any of them, and could cause actual outcomes and results to differ materially from current expectations. No forward-looking statement can be guaranteed. Among other risks, there can be no guarantee that daclatasvir or any other compounds mentioned in this release will receive regulatory approval or, if approved, that they will become commercially successful products. Forward-looking statements in this press release should be evaluated together with the many uncertainties that affect Bristol-Myers Squibb's business, particularly those identified in the cautionary factors discussion in Bristol-Myers Squibb's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2013, in our Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q and our Current Reports on Form 8-K. Bristol-Myers Squibb undertakes no obligation to publicly update any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.
Contact:
Bristol-Myers Squibb Company Media:
Carrie Fernandez,
Office: +1 609-252-4831 Cell: +1 215-859-2605 carrie.fernandez@bms.com or Celine Van Doosselaere
Office: +33 (0)1 5883 6027 Cell: +33 (0)6 1477 3431
celine.vandoosselaere@bms.com
or Investors: Ranya Dajani, 609-252-5330 ranya.dajani@bms.com or Ryan Asay, 609-252-5020 ryan.asay@bms.com
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