— Eagle plans to conduct a Pilot Study shortly followed by a Pivotal Trial —
— Pivotal Trial expected to be completed within approximately 12 months of commencing enrollment —
WOODCLIFF LAKE, N.J.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Eagle Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (“Eagle” or the “Company”) (Nasdaq: EGRX) today announced a clinical development plan to support the submission of a New Drug Application (NDA) for the Company’s innovative fulvestrant formulation. Fulvestrant, an estrogen receptor antagonist with no agonist properties, is approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for the treatment of advanced hormone-related breast cancers. The therapeutic effect of fulvestrant relies on its ability to inhibit estrogen receptors (ER) in cancer cells by binding to and downregulating, or blocking, the ER in breast cancer cells. Recent studies have shown that higher residual ER availability is associated with early disease progression.
Eagle’s original formulation of fulvestrant was studied in a clinical trial conducted in 2018 in healthy post-menopausal women. The study was conducted in 600 subjects over 140 days; 300 subjects received the branded product FASLODEX® and 300 subjects received Eagle’s formulation. A detailed review of the study data led to the hypothesis that the unique properties of Eagle’s formulation would potentially allow for greater inhibition of estrogen receptors. Based on this hypothesis, Eagle has recently completed additional work designed to further enhance its proprietary drug formulation.
In March and June 2019, Eagle met with the FDA and mutually agreed to a clinical program that could provide an efficient approval pathway for the Company’s fulvestrant formulation. The main goal of the clinical research program is to determine if the unique properties of Eagle’s fulvestrant formulation will result in greater inhibition of estrogen receptors, potentially leading to improved efficacy outcomes, including lower disease progression rates, compared to current treatment options.
Eagle intends to begin a pilot study shortly in healthy female volunteers to evaluate the pharmacokinetics and safety of its novel formulation. Once the pilot study results are reviewed, a clinical pivotal trial designed to evaluate fulvestrant exposure and estrogen receptor inhibition based upon the parameters determined with the FDA will be conducted in a target patient population. Depending on recruitment rates and other factors, Eagle believes the pivotal study could be completed within approximately 12 months of commencing enrollment.
“The opportunity to develop a new treatment option that has the potential to better address the epidemic of breast cancer affecting millions of women in the U.S. and worldwide is an important priority for Eagle. Following a thorough review of the data from our previous study, we believe that our fulvestrant product has a unique profile that may allow it to achieve a greater level of estrogen receptor inhibition, and we are encouraged by the guidance provided by FDA to develop a clinical path to further explore the potential of our novel formulation. If successful, the Eagle product could provide a meaningful improvement and a new option to treat this breast cancer patient population,” stated Scott Tarriff, Chief Executive Officer of Eagle Pharmaceuticals.
Breast cancer is the most commonly diagnosed cancer in women, with more than 2.8 million breast cancer survivors in the U.S. today; approximately 290,000 women are diagnosed in the U.S. annually. Hormone receptor-positive (HR+) breast cancer is the most common clinical subtype, with the estrogen receptor (ER) being expressed in approximately 70% of those diagnosed.
About Fulvestrant
Fulvestrant is indicated as a monotherapy treatment of hormone receptor (HR)-positive, human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2)-negative advanced breast cancer in postmenopausal women not previously treated with endocrine therapy, or HR-positive advanced breast cancer in postmenopausal women with disease progression following endocrine therapy, or as a combination therapy for the treatment of: (1) HR-positive, HER2-negative advanced or metastatic breast cancer in postmenopausal women in combination with ribociclib as initial endocrine based therapy or following disease progression on endocrine therapy, or (2) HR-positive, HER2-negative advanced or metastatic breast cancer in combination with palbociclib or abemaciclib in women with disease progression after endocrine therapy.