SAN DIEGO, June 4, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Halozyme Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ: HALO) today announced that the European Commission (EC) has granted Janssen-Cilag International NV (Janssen) marketing authorization for the subcutaneous (SC) formulation of DARZALEX® (daratumumab), for the treatment of adult patients with multiple myeloma in all currently approved DARZALEX® intravenous (IV) formulation indications in frontline and relapsed / refractory settings. The approval follows a Positive Opinion by the CHMP of the European Medicines Agency (EMA) in April 2020. The SC formulation is administered as a fixed-dose over approximately three to five minutes, significantly less time than IV DARZALEX®, which is given over several hours. Patients currently on IV DARZALEX® will have the choice to switch to the SC formulation.
"We are delighted that the subcutaneous formulation of DARZALEX® has been granted marketing authorization in the EU with a broad label so soon after the CHMP positive opinion," said Dr. Helen Torley. "DARZALEX® SC has the potential to improve the treatment experience for multiple myeloma patients and physicians in the European Union as patients may benefit from a shorter treatment time when compared with a multi-hour intravenous infusion."
The approval was based on data from two studies: the Phase III non-inferiority COLUMBA (MMY3012) study, which compared the SC formulation of daratumumab to the IV formulation in patients with relapsed or refractory multiple myeloma, and data from the Phase II PLEIADES (MMY2040) study, which evaluated SC daratumumab in combination with certain standard multiple myeloma regimens. The topline results from the COLUMBA study were announced in February 2019 and subsequently presented in oral sessions at the 2019 American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) Annual Meeting and the 24th European Hematology Association (EHA) Annual Congress. Updated data of the COLUMBA and the PLEIADES studies were presented during poster sessions at the 61st American Society of Hematology (ASH) Annual Meeting in December 2019.
About ENHANZE® Technology
Halozyme's proprietary ENHANZE® drug-delivery technology is based on its patented recombinant human hyaluronidase enzyme (rHuPH20). rHuPH20 has been shown to remove traditional limitations on the volume of biologics that can be delivered subcutaneously (just under the skin). By using rHuPH20, some biologics and compounds that are administered intravenously may instead be delivered subcutaneously. ENHANZE® may also benefit subcutaneous biologics by reducing the need for multiple injections. This delivery has been shown in studies to reduce health care practitioner time required for administration and shorten time for drug administration.
About Halozyme
Halozyme is a biopharmaceutical company bringing disruptive solutions to significantly improve patient experiences and outcomes for emerging and established therapies. Halozyme advises and supports its biopharmaceutical partners in key aspects of new drug development with the goal of improving patients' lives while helping its partners achieve global commercial success. As the innovators of the ENHANZE® technology, which can reduce hours-long treatments to a matter of minutes, Halozyme's commercially-validated solution has positively impacted more than 400,000 patient lives via four commercialized products across more than 100 global markets. Halozyme and its world-class partners are currently advancing multiple therapeutic programs intended to deliver innovative therapies, with the potential to improve the lives of patients around the globe. Halozyme's proprietary enzyme rHuPH20 forms the basis of the ENHANZE® technology and is used to facilitate the delivery of injected drugs and fluids, potentially reducing the treatment burden of other drugs to patients. Halozyme has licensed its ENHANZE® technology to leading pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies including Roche, Baxalta, Pfizer, Janssen, AbbVie, Lilly, Bristol-Myers Squibb, Alexion and argenx. Halozyme derives revenues from these collaborations in the form of milestones and royalties as the Company's partners make progress developing and commercializing their products being developed with ENHANZE®. Halozyme is headquartered in San Diego. For more information visit www.halozyme.com.
Halozyme Safe Harbor Statement
In addition to historical information, the statements set forth above include forward-looking statements including, without limitation, statements concerning the possible activity, benefits and attributes of ENHANZE®, the possible method of action of ENHANZE®, its potential application to aid in the dispersion and absorption of other injected therapeutic drugs, and statements concerning certain other potential benefits of ENHANZE® including facilitating more rapid delivery of injectable medications through subcutaneous delivery and potentially lowering the treatment burden for patients. These forward-looking statements also include statements regarding the product development efforts of Halozyme's ENHANZE® partner. These forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements. The forward-looking statements are typically, but not always, identified through use of the words "believe," "enable," "may," "will," "could," "intends," "estimate," "anticipate," "plan," "predict," "probable," "potential," "possible," "should," "continue," and other words of similar meaning. Actual results could differ materially from the expectations contained in forward-looking statements as a result of several factors, including uncertainties concerning whether collaborative products are ultimately developed or commercialized, unexpected expenditures and costs, unexpected results or delays in development and regulatory review including any potential delays caused by the current COVID-19 global pandemic, unexpected regulatory approval requirements, unexpected adverse events or patient outcomes from being treated with the newly-approved ENHANZE® co-formulated product referred to in this press release, and competitive conditions. These and other factors that may result in differences are discussed in greater detail in Halozyme's most recent Annual and Quarterly Reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Except as required by law, Halozyme undertakes no duty to update forward-looking statements to reflect events after the date of this release.
Contact:
Al Kildani
Vice President, Investor Relations and Corporate Communications
858-704-8122
ir@halozyme.com
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SOURCE Halozyme Therapeutics, Inc.