On January 31, 2024 Adaptimmune Therapeutics plc (NASDAQ: ADAP), a company redefining the treatment of solid tumor cancers with cell therapy, reported that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has accepted for priority review its Biologics License Application (BLA) for afami-cel, an investigational engineered T-cell therapy for advanced synovial sarcoma (Press release, Adaptimmune, JAN 31, 2024, View Source [SID1234639738]). The application has a Prescription Drug User Fee Act (PDUFA) target action date of August, 4, 2024.
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Adrian Rawcliffe, Adaptimmune’s Chief Executive Officer: "The FDA’s acceptance of the BLA submission brings us one step closer to redefining treatment for people with synovial sarcoma. Our franchise has great potential and, if approved, we have the capabilities and the capital to launch afami-cel – the first engineered T-cell therapy on the market for a solid tumor cancer."
Dennis Williams, PharmD, Senior VP of Late-Stage Development: "Historic outcomes are poor for advanced synovial sarcoma, with low objective response rates for second-line therapies and overall survival of less than 12 months for people who have received two or more prior lines of therapy. In clinical trials, afami-cel has demonstrated an impressive response rate of ~39% among heavily pre-treated patients with advanced synovial sarcoma and about a 17-month median survival. This regulatory milestone is a testament to our teams’ relentless work to deliver a novel treatment option to more people diagnosed with synovial sarcoma."
This acceptance is supported by positive data from Cohort 1 of the pivotal trial SPEARHEAD-1, which met its primary endpoint for efficacy. Data from the trial were presented at the Connective Tissue Oncology Society (CTOS) 2023 Annual Meeting.
About Afami-cel
Afami-cel is an engineered T-cell receptor (TCR) T-cell therapy, targeted to the MAGE A4 cancer target, and designed as a single-dose treatment for advanced synovial sarcoma. The last FDA approved therapy for treatment in this setting was for Votrient in 2012. The BLA submission for afami-cel was supported by clinical data from the SPEARHEAD-1 pivotal trial, which has met its primary endpoint for efficacy. ~39% of patients who received afami-cel had clinical responses with a median duration of response of ~12 months (CTOS 2022). Median overall survival (mOS) was ~17 months in SPEARHEAD-1 compared to historical mOS of <12 months for people with synovial sarcoma who received two or more prior lines of therapy.1 Seventy percent of people with advanced synovial sarcoma who respond to afami-cel are alive two years post-treatment.
About synovial sarcoma
There are more than 50 different types of soft tissue sarcomas which are categorised by tumors that appear in fat, muscle, nerves, fibrous tissues, blood vessels, or deep skin tissues.1 Synovial sarcoma accounts for approximately 5% to 10% of all soft tissue sarcomas (there are approximately 13,400 new soft tissue cases in the U.S. each year).2 One third of patients with synovial sarcoma will be diagnosed under the age of 30.2 The five-year survival rate for people with metastatic disease is just 20% and most people undergoing standard of care treatment for advanced disease experience recurrence and go through multiple lines of therapy, often exhausting all options.