FDA gives Priority Review to Celgene's ABRAXANE sNDA for advanced pancreatic cancer

Celgene International Sàrl, a subsidiary of Celgene Corporation (Celgene) (NASDAQ: CELG) today announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has assigned a Priority Review designation to the supplemental New Drug Application (sNDA) for the use of ABRAXANE^® (paclitaxel protein-bound particles for injectable suspension) (albumin-bound) in combination with gemcitabine for the first-line treatment of patients with advanced pancreatic cancer.

The FDA grants Priority Review to medicines that, if approved, have the potential to offer significant improvement compared to marketed products or provide a treatment where no adequate therapy exists. The goal for completing a Priority Review is six months. The Prescription Drug User Fee Act (PDUFA) date for the sNDA for ABRAXANE is set for September 21, 2013.

In April 2013, the European Medicines Agency (EMA) has also accepted for review a Type II Variation to the current Marketing Authorization Application (MAA) for ABRAXANE, in combination with gemcitabine, for the first-line treatment of patients with advanced pancreatic cancer. Celgene plans to submit dossiers for registration in other countries/regions during 2013.

Both applications included data from an open-label, phase III, randomized, international study, Metastatic Pancreatic Adenocarcinoma Clinical Trial (MPACT) involving 861 patients with metastatic pancreatic cancer. Results from this study were recently presented at the American Society of Clinical Oncology's (ASCO) 2013 Gastrointestinal Cancers Symposium in January.

Celgene is preparing a development plan for a phase III, international, multicenter, randomized controlled trial evaluating the activity of ABRAXANE plus gemcitabine in the adjuvant pancreatic cancer setting.

ABRAXANE is not currently approved for the treatment of advanced pancreatic cancer.