FDA approves OLYSIO (simeprevir) for treatment of chronic hepatitis C infection

Janssen Pharmaceuticals, Inc.Nov 23 2013

Janssen Therapeutics, Division of Janssen Products, LP (Janssen), announced today the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved OLYSIO^™ (simeprevir), an NS3/4A protease inhibitor, for the treatment of chronic hepatitis C infection as part of an antiviral treatment regimen in combination with pegylated interferon and ribavirin in genotype 1 infected adults with compensated liver disease, including cirrhosis. OLYSIO^™ may benefit patients with chronic hepatitis C, including those who are treatment naive or who have failed prior interferon-based therapy.

Chronic hepatitis C is a blood-borne infectious disease of the liver that affects approximately 3.2 million people in the United States.

OLYSIO^™ works by blocking the viral protease enzyme that enables the hepatitis C virus (HCV) to replicate in host cells. The goal of treatment for chronic hepatitis C is cure, also known as sustained virologic response (SVR), which is defined as undetectable levels of HCV in the patients' blood 12 to 24 weeks after the end of treatment. For treatment-naive and prior-relapser patients, a fixed treatment regimen of 12 weeks of OLYSIO^™ combined with 24 weeks of pegylated interferon and ribavirin is recommended. For prior partial- and null-responder patients, a treatment regimen of 12 weeks of OLYSIO^™ combined with 48 weeks of pegylated interferon and ribavirin is recommended.

"Given the complexity of the condition, OLYSIO^™ was studied in a number of different patient populations, including individuals who have relapsed or failed to respond to previous treatments," said Douglas Dieterich, M.D., Professor of Medicine in the Division of Liver Diseases, Mount Sinai School of Medicine, and OLYSIO^™ clinical trial investigator. "The FDA approval of OLYSIO^™ is an important milestone for people living with chronic hepatitis C as it means that patients have a new treatment option with the potential to cure this challenging disease."

OLYSIO^™ is a prescription medicine used with other antiviral medicines, pegylated interferon and ribavirin, to treat genotype 1 chronic hepatitis C in adults with stable liver problems. OLYSIO^™ must not be taken alone. The efficacy of OLYSIO^™ in combination with peginterferon and ribavirin is greatly decreased in patients who have genotype 1a Q80K. Please talk to your doctor about testing for genotype 1a Q80K and using a different therapy when genotype 1a Q80K is present. It is not known if OLYSIO^™ is safe and effective in children under 18 years of age.

The New Drug Application (NDA) filed by Janssen Research & Development, LLC, for OLYSIO^™ was based in part on efficacy and safety results from three pivotal Phase 3 studies – QUEST-1 and QUEST-2 in treatment-naive patients and PROMISE in patients who have relapsed after prior interferon-based treatment – as well as data from the Phase 2b ASPIRE study in prior non-responder patients. Each of the studies evaluated OLYSIO^™ dosed once daily in combination with pegylated interferon and ribavirin versus treatment with placebo plus pegylated interferon and ribavirin.

Results from a pooled analysis of QUEST-1 and QUEST-2 demonstrated that 80 percent of treatment-naive patients in the group receiving OLYSIO^™ achieved sustained virologic response 12 weeks after the end of treatment (SVR12), compared with 50 percent of patients in the placebo groups. In PROMISE, 79 percent of prior-relapser patients in the simeprevir group of the study achieved SVR12 compared with 37 percent of patients in the placebo group. Results from ASPIRE demonstrated that use of OLYSIO^™ led to sustained virologic response 24 weeks after the end of treatment (SVR24) in 65 percent of prior partial-responder patients and 53 percent of prior-null responder patients compared with 9 percent and 19 percent of prior partial- and null-responder patients in the placebo groups, respectively.

In the QUEST-1 and QUEST-2 studies, among genotype 1a treatment-naive patients receiving OLYSIO^™ who had the Q80K polymorphism (a naturally occurring variation in the HCV NS3/4A protease enzyme), 58 percent achieved SVR12 versus 84 percent of patients without the Q80K polymorphism. In the placebo arm, 52 percent of patients with the Q80K polymorphism achieved SVR12. In the PROMISE study, among prior-relapser patients with the Q80K polymorphism who received OLYSIO^™, 47 percent achieved SVR12 versus 78 percent of patients without the polymorphism. In the placebo arm, 30 percent of patients with the Q80K polymorphism achieved SVR12.

"As an advocate working with the hepatitis C community, I'm pleased to know that Janssen has been working to make sure OLYSIO^™ will be reasonably priced and available to the patients who need it," said Sue Simon, President of the Hepatitis C Association. "It is notable that in addition to introducing a new treatment option for patients, Janssen is establishing comprehensive programs to support and assist patients in their treatment journey."

Janssen has launched OLYSIO^™ Support, a comprehensive support program designed in partnership with the HCV community to assist in the hepatitis C treatment journey so that patients and caregivers – and their healthcare providers – can focus on treatment.