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March 19, 2024
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FDA grants accelerated approval to Iclusig for Philadelphia chromosome-positive ALL

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The FDA granted accelerated approval to ponatinib with chemotherapy for the treatment of adults with newly diagnosed Philadelphia chromosome-positive acute lymphoblastic leukemia, according to a press release.

Ponatinib (Iclusig, Takeda) is a third-generation tyrosine kinase inhibitor developed to inhibit BCR::ABL1 with or without any single resistance mutation. The FDA granted priority review and orphan drug designation for the indication.

Generic FDA News infographic
FDA granted accelerated approval to a third-generation TKI inhibitor for adults with newly diagnosed Philadelphia chromosome-positive ALL.

The agency based the accelerated approval on the results of the randomized phase 3 PhALLCON trial, which evaluated the efficacy and safety of reduced-intensity chemotherapy plus either ponatinib or imatinib as a front-line therapy for adults with newly diagnosed Philadelphia chromosome-positive ALL.

The study included 245 adults (median age, 54 years; 37% aged 60 years or older) with newly diagnosed Philadelphia chromosome-positive ALL.

Study investigators randomly assigned patients in a 2:1 ratio to ponatinib 30 mg daily — reduced to 15 mg upon achievement of a minimal residual disease (MRD)-negative complete response (CR)— or imatinib 600 mg daily with reduced-intensity chemotherapy through the end of induction, consolidation and post-consolidation.

After post-consolidation, study participants received ponatinib or imatinib monotherapy, with treatment continuing until unacceptable toxicity or disease progression.

Researchers observed an MRD-negative CR rate of 30% at the end of induction therapy in the ponatinib arm and 12% in the imatinib arm (risk difference, 0.18; 95% CI, 0.08-0.28).

The most common adverse reactions reported during the study included hepatic dysfunction, arthralgia, rash and related conditions, headache, pyrexia, abdominal pain, constipation, fatigue, nausea, oral mucositis, hypertension, pancreatitis/elevated lipase, peripheral neuropathy, hemorrhage, febrile neutropenia, fluid retention and edema, vomiting, paresthesia, and cardiac arrhythmias.

The recommended ponatinib dose is 30 mg orally once daily, with a reduction to 15 mg orally once daily following achievement of an MRD-negative CR at the end of induction therapy. Ponatinib in combination with chemotherapy can then be continued for up to 20 cycles until either loss of response or unacceptable toxicity.