Lundbeck reports positive results for VYEPTI® (eptinezumab-jjmr) from the DELIVER study in patients with migraine and prior preventive treatment failures

  • The DELIVER study met its primary endpoint of change from baseline in the number of monthly migraine days (MMDs), with significantly more patients treated with VYEPTI vs placebo had a 50% or greater reduction in MMDs
  • The DELIVER study included patients who experienced treatment failures with 2 to 4 older oral migraine preventive therapies
  • The results confirm the efficacy and safety results from the pivotal studies, which led to VYEPTI being the first and only CGRP antagonist approved by the FDA for intravenous administration in the preventive treatment of migraine

H. Lundbeck A/S (Lundbeck) announced positive results from the DELIVER study assessing the efficacy and safety of VYEPTI® (eptinezumab-jjmr) 100mg and 300mg IV infusion in patients with chronic or episodic migraine who had experienced two to four previous preventive treatment failures due to lack of efficacy or intolerable side effects.

The study met its primary objective of demonstrating superiority of VYEPTI versus placebo in reducing the number of monthly migraine headache days (MMDs) over 12 weeks of treatment. In the study, treatment with VYEPTI 100mg and 300mg reduced monthly migraine days by 4.8 and 5.3 days (P<0.0001), respectively, compared with a reduction of 2.1 days with placebo.

In addition, the DELIVER study achieved statistical significance on all key secondary outcome measures. Specifically, more patients achieved the clinically relevant 50% or greater reduction in migraine days over weeks 1-12 after receiving VYEPTI 100mg (42.1%) and 300mg (49.5%) than patients receiving placebo (13.1%).

The safety profile of VYEPTI observed in the DELIVER study was consistent with the safety profile observed in the pivotal phase III studies with VYEPTI for the preventive treatment of migraine.

Dr. Messoud Ashina, Professor of Neurology at the Danish Headache Center and principal investigator of the DELIVER study, said:

There is a substantial proportion of our patients with migraine who do not respond to, or cannot tolerate, the traditional oral preventive treatments. These patients need additional treatment options, and for such patients, the DELIVER study is good news as the results show that even after multiple treatment failures, patients may still respond to this treatment. As such, the results of the DELIVER study may represent new hope for these patients.”

Dr. Johan Luthman, EVP and Head of Research & Development in Lundbeck, said:

We are encouraged by the efficacy and safety results from the DELIVER study for VYEPTI in migraine patients, who have experienced several other preventive treatment failures. Failure of preventive oral medication is common among patients with migraine and represents a huge unmet medical need. The outcome in this hard-to-treat population highlights the potential of VYEPTI as a powerful treatment option.

About DELIVER

DELIVER (NCT04418765) is a phase IIIb, multicenter, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study evaluating the safety and efficacy of VYEPTI in patients with chronic or episodic migraine. Chronic migraine was defined as migraine occurring on ≥8 days per month and headache occurring on >14, and episodic migraine as migraine occurring on ≥4 days and headache occurring on ≤14 days. All patients had to have experienced failures of two to four prior preventive treatment classes. Patient who experienced failure on a previous treatment targeting the calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP) pathway were excluded from participation. Documented evidence of prior migraine treatment failures was supported by medical record or by physician's confirmation specific to each treatment in the past 10 years.

In the study, 892 patients were randomized to receive eptinezumab 100mg or 300mg or placebo by intravenous (IV) infusion. Patients included in the study most frequently experienced treatment failures of topiramate and amitriptyline, with 550(61.8%), 277(31.1%), and 60(6.7%) patients experiencing 2, 3, and 4 prior preventive treatment failures, respectively. The primary endpoint was change from baseline in the number of monthly migraine days over Weeks 1-12. Key secondary endpoints included response rates as patients with 50% or greater reduction from baseline in MMDs (Weeks 1–12), response rates of patients with 75% or greater reduction from baseline in MMDs (Weeks 1–12), and change from baseline in the number of MMDs (Weeks 13–24). Other secondary endpoints assessed the effect of VYEPTI vs placebo on: 6-item Headache Impact test score (HIT-6), Migraine-specific quality of life (MSQ v2.1), HRQoL (EQ-5D-5L) visual analogue scale (VAS) score, Health care resources utilization (HCRU), and Work Productivity and Activity Impairment Questionnaire (WPAI).

About VYEPTI® (eptinezumab-jjmr)

VYEPTI is a humanized monoclonal antibody that binds to CGRP which was purposefully developed for IV administration. The efficacy and safety of VYEPTI was evaluated in two phase III clinical trials (PROMISE-1 in episodic migraine[i] and PROMISE-2 in chronic migraine[ii]), where VYEPTI met its primary endpoint of decrease in MMDs over weeks 1-12 in both episodic and chronic migraine. Furthermore, the clinical trial program demonstrated a treatment benefit over placebo that was observed for both doses of VYEPTI as early as day 1 post-infusion. The safety of VYEPTI was evaluated in 2,076 adult patients with migraine who received at least one dose of VYEPTI. The most common adverse reactions (≥2% and at least 2% or greater than placebo) in the clinical trials for the preventive treatment of migraine were nasopharyngitis and hypersensitivity. In PROMISE-1 and PROMISE-2, 1.9% of patients treated with VYEPTI discontinued treatment due to adverse reactions.

VYEPTI was approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for the preventive treatment of migraine in adults in February 2020 and it is launched on the U.S. market. The European Medicines Agency (EMA) is currently reviewing the marketing authorization application for VYEPTI.

About Migraine

Migraine is a complex and incapacitating neurological disease characterized by recurrent episodes of severe headaches typically accompanied by an array of symptoms, including nausea, vomiting, and sensitivity to light or sound[iii]. It is estimated to affect approximately 39 million people in the U.S. and more than 1 billion worldwide and impacts three times as many women than men. Migraine is the second leading cause of years lived with disability (YLD) among all diseases, and it is the top YLD cause among patients aged 15 to 49 years, according to the Global Burden of Disease study[iv]. Not only is headache painful, but migraine also imposes both a social and financial burden. In Europe, migraine alone affects close to 50 million people costing the economy EUR 18 billion annually according to the Cost of Brain Disorders in Europe[v] study; and this is without the indirect cost associated with presenteeism (i.e. productivity losses due to reduced efficiency of persons who are not sufficiently ill to be absent from work). Repeated headache attacks, and often the constant fear of the next one, damage family life, social life and work life. Furthermore, frequent use of acute migraine treatments may leave patients experiencing, or at risk of developing, medication overuse headache.

Indication and Important Safety Information

VYEPTI (eptinezumab-jjmr) is indicated for the preventive treatment of migraine in adults.

Important Safety Information

CONTRAINDICATIONS

VYEPTI is contraindicated in patients with serious hypersensitivity to eptinezumab-jjmr or to any of the excipients. Reactions have included anaphylaxis and angioedema.

WARNINGS AND PRECAUTIONS

Hypersensitivity reactions: Hypersensitivity reactions, including angioedema, urticaria, facial flushing, and rash, have occurred with VYEPTI in clinical trials. Most hypersensitivity reactions occurred during infusion and were not serious, but often led to discontinuation or required treatment. Serious hypersensitivity reactions may occur. Cases of anaphylaxis have been reported in the postmarketing setting. If a hypersensitivity reaction occurs, consider discontinuing VYEPTI, and institute appropriate therapy.

ADVERSE REACTIONS

The most common adverse reactions (≥2% and at least 2% or greater than placebo) in the clinical trials for the preventive treatment of migraine were nasopharyngitis and hypersensitivity.

For more information, please see the Full Prescribing Information and Patient Information or go to VYEPTIHCP.com

Lundbeck Contacts

Investors:
Palle Holm Olesen
Vice President, Investor Relations
PALO@lundbeck.com
+45 30 83 24 26

Media:
Thomas Mikkel Mortensen
Media Relations Lead
Corp. Communication
THMR@lundbeck.com
+45 30 83 30 24

About H. Lundbeck A/S

H. Lundbeck A/S (LUN.CO, LUN DC, HLUYY) is a global pharmaceutical company specialized in brain diseases. For more than 70 years, we have been at the forefront of neuroscience research. We are tirelessly dedicated to restoring brain health, so every person can be their best.

Too many people worldwide live with brain diseases – complex conditions often invisible to others that nonetheless take a tremendous toll on individuals, families and societies. We are committed to fighting stigma and discrimination against people living with brain diseases and advocating for broader social acceptance of people with brain health conditions. Every day, we strive for improved treatment and a better life for people living with brain disease.

We have approximately 5,600 employees in more than 50 countries, and our products are available in more than 100 countries. Our research programs tackle some of the most complex challenges in neuroscience, and our pipeline is focused on bringing forward transformative treatments for brain diseases for which there are few, if any therapeutic options. We have research facilities in Denmark and the United States, and our production facilities are located in Denmark, France, and Italy. Lundbeck generated revenue of DKK 17.7 billion in 2020 (EUR 2.4 billion; USD 2.7 billion).

For additional information, we encourage you to visit our corporate site www.lundbeck.com and connect with us on Instagram (h_lundbeck), Twitter at @Lundbeck and via LinkedIn.

 

[i] Ashina M, et al. Eptinezumab in episodic migraine: A randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study (PROMISE-1). Cephalalgia. 2020; 40(3):241-254

[ii] Lipton RB, et al. Efficacy and safety of eptinezumab in patients with chronic migraine: PROMISE-2. Neurology. 2020; 94(13):e1365-e1377

[iii] Villalón CM. The role of CGRP in the pathophysiology of migraine and efficacy of CGRP receptor antagonists as acute antimigraine drugs. Pharmacol Ther. 2009;124(3):309-323

[iv] Steiner TJ, et al. Migraine is first cause of disability in under 50s: will health politicians now take notice? J Headache Pain. 2018;19(1):17.

[v] Gustavsson A, Svensson M, Jacobi F, et al. Cost of disorders of the brain in Europe 2010 [published correction appears in Eur Neuropsychopharmacol. 2012 Mar;22(3):237-8. den Bergh, Peter Van [corrected to Van den Bergh, Peter]]. Eur Neuropsychopharmacol. 2011;21(10):718-779.