Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated VRTX today announced the European Medicines Agency (EMA) has validated a Type II Variation Marketing Authorization Application (MAA) for the expanded indication of KAFTRIO®* (ivacaftor/tezacaftor/elexacaftor) in combination with ivacaftor to treat CF in patients ages 12 years and older with at least one copy of the F508del mutation in the cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator (CFTR) gene.
If approved, eligible patients who have one copy of the F508del mutation and another CFTR mutation, such as a gating (F/G) or residual function (F/RF) mutation, will also be eligible for treatment. The MAA is supported by positive results from the global Phase 3 study (445-104) with KAFTRIO announced in July 2020. The application will now be reviewed by the Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use (CHMP), which will issue an opinion to the European Commission regarding the potential approval for these patients.
KAFTRIO® (ivacaftor/tezacaftor/elexacaftor) in combination with ivacaftor is currently approved in Europe to treat people with CF ages 12 years and older with one F508del mutation and one minimal function mutation (F/MF), or two F508del mutations (F/F) in the CFTR gene.
About Cystic Fibrosis
Cystic Fibrosis (CF) is a rare, life-shortening genetic disease affecting approximately 75,000 people worldwide. CF is a progressive, multi-system disease that affects the lungs, liver, GI tract, sinuses, sweat glands, pancreas and reproductive tract. CF is caused by a defective and/or missing CFTR protein resulting from certain mutations in the CFTR gene. Children must inherit two defective CFTR genes — one from each parent — to have CF. While there are many different types of CFTR mutations that can cause the disease, the vast majority of all people with CF have at least one F508del mutation. These mutations, which can be determined by a genetic test, or genotyping test, lead to CF by creating non-working and/or too few CFTR proteins at the cell surface. The defective function and/or absence of CFTR protein results in poor flow of salt and water into and out of the cells in a number of organs. In the lungs, this leads to the buildup of abnormally thick, sticky mucus that can cause chronic lung infections and progressive lung damage in many patients that eventually leads to death. The median age of death is in the early 30s.
About KAFTRIO® (ivacaftor/tezacaftor/elexacaftor) in a Combination Regimen With ivacaftor
KAFTRIO® (ivacaftor/tezacaftor/elexacaftor) in a combination regimen with ivacaftor 150 mg is approved in Europe for the treatment of cystic fibrosis (CF) in patients ages 12 years and older with one F508del mutation and one minimal function mutation (F/MF) or two F508del mutations (F/F) in the cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator (CFTR) gene. KAFTRIO® is designed to increase the quantity and function of the F508del-CFTR protein at the cell surface. For complete product information, please see the Summary of Product Characteristics that can be found on https://www.ema.europa.eu/en/medicines/human/EPAR/kaftrio.
About Vertex
Vertex is a global biotechnology company that invests in scientific innovation to create transformative medicines for people with serious diseases. The company has multiple approved medicines that treat the underlying cause of cystic fibrosis (CF) — a rare, life-threatening genetic disease — and has several ongoing clinical and research programs in CF. Beyond CF, Vertex has a robust pipeline of investigational small molecule medicines in other serious diseases where it has deep insight into causal human biology, including pain, alpha-1 antitrypsin deficiency and APOL1-mediated kidney diseases. In addition, Vertex has a rapidly expanding pipeline of genetic and cell therapies for diseases such as sickle cell disease, beta thalassemia, Duchenne muscular dystrophy and type 1 diabetes mellitus.
Founded in 1989 in Cambridge, Mass., Vertex's global headquarters is now located in Boston's Innovation District and its international headquarters is in London, UK. Additionally, the company has research and development sites and commercial offices in North America, Europe, Australia and Latin America. Vertex is consistently recognized as one of the industry's top places to work, including 10 consecutive years on Science magazine's Top Employers list and top five on the 2019 Best Employers for Diversity list by Forbes.
Special Note Regarding Forward-looking Statements
This press release contains forward-looking statements as defined in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, including, without limitation, statements regarding the potential benefits of KAFTRIO, our expectations regarding the MAA, including, if approved, the patients that will become eligible for treatment, and our expectations regarding additional regulatory reviews, opinions and approvals and label expansions for our medicines. While Vertex believes the forward-looking statements contained in this press release are accurate, these forward-looking statements represent the company's beliefs only as of the date of this press release and there are a number of risks and uncertainties that could cause actual events or results to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Those risks and uncertainties include, among other things, that regulatory authorities may not approve, or approve on a timely basis, the MAA, data from the company's development programs may not support registration, approval or further development of its compounds due to safety, efficacy or other reasons, risks related to approval and commercialization of our medicines, and other risks listed under Risk Factors in Vertex's annual report and subsequent quarterly reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission and available through the company's website at www.vrtx.com. Vertex disclaims any obligation to update the information contained in this press release as new information becomes available.
(VRTX-GEN)
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