The race tightens

In case you missed it, Gilead put out a major press release today:

Gilead to Stop Phase 3 Study 116 of Idelalisib in Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia Early Because of Positive Risk-Benefit

Idelalisib is a very promising experimental agent for both NHL and CLL.  I've written about it quite a few times previously.  In CLL there is overwhelming enthusiasm regarding the multitude of new drugs on the very near horizon.

Obinutuzumab is an exciting new antibody that has been granted "breakthrough status" with the FDA.  Most readers will be familiar with Ibrutinib which carries the same FDA designation.  Idelalisib is another important experimental new therapy but was not awarded the same breakthrough status and was therefore considered by some to be "third place" in the horse race of approval. This announcement will really give them a significant boost.

The FDA is charged with determining if a new therapy is both, "safe" and "effective."  The absolute best way to do that is perform a randomized / blinded / controlled phase III study in which half of patients are given a "standard of care" and the other half are given the experimental treatment.  If patients do better on the experimental treatment the drug can be approved.

It is fair to ask, "what is a standard of care?"  Sometimes in CLL - particularly in elderly individuals it isn't exactly clear from any real source what is "standard."  Is "standard" what is commonly done by doctors or is "standard" the most rigorously studied and published "treatment regimen."  In CLL, single agent rituximab does not have the enthusiastic endorsement of many thought leaders, but if you look at what is done in practice it represents nearly 30% of the treatment offered to elderly individuals.  Is single agent rituxan therefore a good control?  That will be answered by the FDA.

Another way drugs may be approved is on the basis of an "accelerated approval" where a drug company identifies an "unmet medical need."  This is a population of patients with a specific disease who have exhausted all of their therapies and lack any good remaining / approved options.  If you can show that your new drug is active in this setting, the FDA can give you a "conditional approval."  The "condition" is that your approval depends upon you then completing an appropriate randomized phase III study. 

This route of approval can be perilous.  A really promising breast cancer drug was rejected by the FDA while going down this road because it was felt that not every patient had truly exhausted every single approved drug.  After the company then completed a randomized phase III study with the same drug, they got approval this year.  Unfortunately nearly three years passed between these two events.

If anyone is following the story closely - here is where things stand:

Obinutuzumab conducted a randomized phase III trial in FRONTLINE ELDERLY patients with CLL.  The antibody has some pretty significant advantages and the FDA has granted both "breakthrough status" and "priority review" 

Ibrutinib submitted their application to the FDA on the basis of a non randomized study and the FDA has granted breakthrough status in the 17P deleted population.  I am not participating in the subsequent randomized phase III studies with this molecule but there are quite a few of them and accrual has been brisk.  Will it be approved in this smaller subgroup of patients or all patients with relapsed CLL?  The FDA will soon tell.

Idelalisib had taken the single arm strategy in follicular lymphoma refractory to both rituximab and an alkalating agent chemotherapy.  They had seemed a little behind in CLL but now this announcement gives them a lot of new momentum.  They reported that a randomized phase III study in CLL had to be terminated early because the benefit of the experimental arm was so significant. 

The study consisted of half patients getting single agent rituximab WITH a placebo while the other half got rituximab WITH idelalisib (CAL-101 or GS-1101).  This strategy would only be appropriate for older individuals with medical reasons not to give chemotherapy.

It is always nice when a study stops early for positive results - but keep in mind that the DSMB (data safety monitoring board) is NOT the same group as the FDA.  Now the study closes.  It sounds like patients on the control arm will be allowed to receive idelalisib.  This may minimize the magnitude of the benefit that would have occurred if the study were to continue.  Other drugs have been stymied at the FDA under similar circumstances.

Can't wait to see how this all plays out. 

Thanks for reading
Jeff

Video update from IWCLL

I had the chance to meet up with Andrew Schorr in Germany at the IWCLL meeting. We taped this interview to provide an overview of where the new CLL drugs may best fit into an individuals treatment plan.  Hopefully it is a good summary for you and puts things into a more focused perspective.

Andrew does a great job collecting the voices of many experts and putting them into one place. If you haven't made a contribution to his efforts, you might want to think about doing so. We are lucky to have him out on the front lines.

I apologize for being a little long winded in response to his questions.  So much exciting stuff to talk about, I had a hard time containing myself.




                         

ASCO update 2013

Andrew Schorr and Brian Koffman have done a fantastic job putting together videos to help educate CLL patients about the state of the art in CLL.  I appreciate the opportunity to interview with them - they are a great team and a fantastic resource for CLL patients looking for good information about what is out there.

In this interview we talked about a number of new investigational medications that many CLL patients have heard of including ibrutinib, idelalisib, obinituzumab, and ABT-199.  Hopefully this gives some new insight into the importance of research participation.

Patient Power: "What is Hot in CLL"

I had the pleasure of meeting Andrew Schorr at ASH this past December.  Andrew is a CLL patient who has an absolutely fantastic website called patientpower.  I highly encourage you look through his material.

He asked me, "What is hot in CLL?"  There is a lot going on in CLL.  Here is the interview (I will try to directly embed this on my blog once I figure out how)

An Expert's Perspective: Why New CLL Treatments Supersede FCR from Patient Power® on Vimeo.

WVCI ASH 2012 Abstracts

ASH abstracts are out.  I recently posted on how to carefully evaluate the news.  Over next several weeks I want to draw attention to those abstracts that I think are most noteworthy.  In the meantime, I thought I would put the links to the studies our center has participated in.  Most of these represent collaborations with leaders in CLL and NHL.  It has been a good year in CLL/NHL and I think we are really on the verge of substantial change in the field.

Ibrutinib Is an Irreversible Molecular Inhibitor of Interleukin-2 Inducible Kinase: Expanding Therapeutic Potential and Modulating a Th1 Selective Pressure in CD4 T-Cells

Combinations of the Phosphatidylinositol 3-Kinase-Delta (PI3Kδ) Inhibitor Gs‑1101 (CAL-101) with Rituximab and/or Bendamustine Are Tolerable and Highly Active in Previously Treated, Indolent Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma: Results From a Phase I Study

Variation in Health-Related Quality of Life by Line of Therapy of Patients with Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia

The Bruton’s Tyrosine Kinase (BTK) Inhibitor Ibrutinib (PCI-32765) Promotes High Response Rate, Durable Remissions, and Is Tolerable in Treatment Naïve (TN) and Relapsed or Refractory (RR) Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia (CLL) or Small Lymphocytic Lymphoma (SLL) Patients Including Patients with High-Risk (HR) Disease: New and Updated Results of 116 Patients in a Phase Ib/II Study

Combinations of the Selective Phosphatidylinositol 3-Kinase-Delta (PI3Kdelta) Inhibitor GS–1101 (CAL-101) with Rituximab and/or Bendamustine Are Tolerable and Highly Active in Patients with Relapsed or Refractory Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia (CLL): Results From a Phase I Study

A Phase 2 Study of Brentuximab Vedotin in Patients with Relapsed or Refractory CD30-Positive Non-Hodgkin Lymphomas:  Interim Results

The Bruton’s Tyrosine Kinase Inhibitor Ibrutinib (PCI-32765) Is Active and Tolerated in Relapsed Follicular Lymphoma