INCHEON, South Korea--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Celltrion Healthcare announced today that the European Commission (EC) has approved Vegzelma™ (CT-P16), a biosimilar bevacizumab referencing EU-approved Avastin®, for the treatment of metastatic breast cancer, non-small cell lung cancer, advanced and/or metastatic renal cell cancer, metastatic carcinoma of the colon or rectum, ovarian cancer and cervical cancer.
“The European Commission’s approval of Vegzelma™ will increase access to treatment for patients living with certain types of cancer at an affordable price,” said Kevin Byoung Seo Choi, Senior Vice President and Head of Marketing Division at Celltrion Healthcare. “With proven similarities in efficacy and safety compared to the reference product Avastin®, Vegzelma™ will be available to treat some of the most commonly diagnosed cancers, which collectively affect hundreds of thousands of European patients each year.”
The EC approval of Vegzelma™ follows the recommendation for marketing authorisation issued by the Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use (CHMP) of the European Medicines Agency (EMA) in June 2022.
Today’s approval is based on the totality of evidence, including the phase III pivotal trial in patients with metastatic or recurrent non-squamous non-small cell lung cancer. Results showed that, as a first-line treatment, Vegzelma™ is highly similar to the reference product in terms of efficacy, safety and pharmacokinetics.2
Vegzelma™ (CT-P16) is Celltrion’s third oncology biosimilar approved for use in the EU, following the approval of Truxima® (biosimilar rituximab) and Herzuma® (biosimilar trastuzumab). Vegzelma™ was also filed for regulatory approval with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in September 2021. Approval is expected during the third quarter of 2022.
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Notes to Editors:
About Celltrion Healthcare
Celltrion Healthcare is committed to delivering innovative and affordable medications to promote patients’ access to advanced therapies. Its products are manufactured at state-of-the-art mammalian cell culture facilities, designed and built to comply with the US FDA Current Good Manufacturing Practice (cGMP) and the EU GMP guidelines. Celltrion Healthcare endeavours to offer high-quality cost-effective solutions through an extensive global network that spans more than 110 different countries. For more information, please visit: https://www.celltrionhealthcare.com
About Vegzelma™ (CT-P16, biosimilar bevacizumab)
Vegzelma™ is an anti-cancer monoclonal antibody treatment biosimilar to Avastin® (bevacizumab). Vegzelma™ is a recombinant humanised monoclonal antibody which binds to VEGF, the key driver of vasculogenesis and angiogenesis, and thereby inhibits the binding of VEGF to its receptors Flt-1 (VEGFR-1), and kinase insert domain receptor (KDR) (VEGFR-2), on the surface of endothelial cells. Neutralising the biological activity of VEGF regresses the vascularisation of tumours, normalises remaining tumour vasculature, and inhibits the formation of new tumour vasculature, thereby inhibiting tumour growth.3 In the EU, Vegzelma™ is indicated for the treatment of patients with metastatic colorectal cancer, non-small cell lung cancer, metastatic renal cell carcinoma, ovarian cancer, advanced cervical cancer and metastatic breast cancer.
References
1 Avastin is a registered trademark of Genentech Inc.
2 Ohe Y et al., Randomized Phase III Study Comparing the Efficacy and Safety of CT-P16, a New Biosimilar, to Reference Bevacizumab (Avastin) In Patients With Metastatic or Recurrent Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer (NSCLC). Proceedings: American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) Annual Meeting 2022; April 8-13, 2022 New Orleans, Louisiana.
3 European Medicines Agency Summary of Product Characteristics (SmPC), Avastin. Available at https://www.ema.europa.eu/en/documents/product-information/avastin-epar-product-information_en.pdf [Last accessed August 2022].
