Full Press Release Details
SAN RAFAEL, Calif. , Sept. 21, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- BioMarin Pharmaceutical Inc. (Nasdaq: BMRN ), a global biotechnology company dedicated to transforming lives through genetic discovery, today announced that new data on VOXZOGO ® (vosoritide) in children with achondroplasia will be presented at the 61st Annual European Society for Paediatric Endocrinology (ESPE) Meeting in The Hague, Netherlands .
In an open-label, long-term Phase 2 extension study, VOXZOGO demonstrated consistent and durable growth benefits in young children with achondroplasia when initiated before the age of 5. Over a four-year period, children aged 2 years and above who received VOXZOGO exhibited a mean (average) height Z-score improvement exceeding 1 standard deviation compared to control groups and a height gain of more than 6 centimeters (cm) during this time period. Additionally, children under the age of 2 years, treated with VOXZOGO for three years, demonstrated substantial height gains, reflected in a mean height Z-score improvement of 0.79 standard deviations compared to controls and a height gain of more than 3 cm during this time period. Both groups of treated children demonstrated substantial restoration of height when compared to untreated children with achondroplasia.
VOXZOGO is currently approved in Europe in children with achondroplasia who are 2 years of age and older with open growth plates. Last week, the European Medicines Agency's (EMA) Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use (CHMP) adopted a positive opinion recommending marketing authorization to expand the indication for VOXZOGO for injection to treat children with achondroplasia aged 4 months and older whose epiphyses (growth plates) are not closed. VOXZOGO is also currently approved in the United States in children with achondroplasia who are 5 years of age and older with open growth plates. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has set a PDUFA Target Action Date of Oct. 21, 2023 , for the company's Supplemental New Drug Application (sNDA) for VOXZOGO to expand treatment in the U.S. to include children with achondroplasia under 5 years of age.
"The data presented add to the growing body of evidence demonstrating the positive effect on growth in younger children with achondroplasia who receive VOXZOGO," said Hank Fuchs , M.D., president of Worldwide Research and Development at BioMarin. "The results showed that, over the course of four years, young children treated earlier with VOXZOGO exhibited substantial gains in height, suggesting that VOXZOGO had a significant and positive impact on their growth."
New data also highlighted real-world safety and effectiveness of VOXZOGO. Results from an early access program in France found that VOXZOGO treated under real-world conditions had a safety and effectiveness profile consistent with clinical trials. After 12 months of treatment with VOXZOGO, boys demonstrated a mean (average) increase in height with a Z-score improvement of 0.3 standard deviations, and girls showed a mean increase in height with a Z-score improvement of 0.4 standard deviations.
Key VOXZOGO presentations at ESPE include:
Oral Presentations:
Real-world Safety and Effectiveness of Vosoritide: Results from an Early Access Program in France RFC4.5 Thursday, September 21, 2023 , 2:45 – 2:50 p.m. , Central European Summer Time
Persistence of Growth Promoting Effects in Infants and Toddlers with Achondroplasia: Results in Children Aged Over 2 Years Old from a Phase II Extension Study with Vosoritide FC4.6 Thursday, September 21, 2023 , 3:45 – 3:55 p.m. , Central European Summer Time
Design and Objectives of the Acorn Study: A Non-Interventional Study Evaluating Long-Term Safety in Achondroplasia Patients Treated with Vosoritide T8 Thursday, September 21, 2023 , 12:55 – 2:25 p.m. , Central European Summer Time
About VOXZOGO (vosoritide) for Injection
In children with achondroplasia, endochondral bone growth, an essential process by which bone tissue is created, is negatively regulated due to a gain of function mutation in fibroblast growth factor receptor 3 gene (FGFR3) . VOXZOGO, a C-type natriuretic peptide (CNP) analog, represents a new class of therapy, which acts as a positive regulator of the signaling pathway downstream of FGFR3 to promote endochondral bone growth.
Through BioMarin's broad clinical development program, the company has enrolled 250 children with achondroplasia from eight countries in seven clinical studies evaluating the safety and efficacy of VOXZOGO.
VOXZOGO is approved in the U.S. and indicated to increase linear growth in pediatric patients with achondroplasia who are 5 years of age and older with open epiphyses. This indication is approved under accelerated approval based on an improvement in annualized growth velocity. Continued approval for this indication may be contingent upon verification and description of clinical benefit in confirmatory trial(s). To fulfill this post-marketing requirement, BioMarin intends to use the ongoing open-label extension studies compared to available natural history.
About Achondroplasia
Achondroplasia, the most common form of skeletal dysplasia leading to disproportionate short stature in humans, is characterized by slowing of endochondral ossification, which results in disproportionate short stature and disordered architecture in the long bones, spine, face, and base of the skull. This condition is caused by a change in the fibroblast growth factor receptor 3 gene (FGFR3), a negative regulator of bone growth.
More than 80% of children with achondroplasia have parents of average stature and have the condition as the result of a spontaneous gene mutation. The worldwide incidence rate of achondroplasia is about one in 25,000 live births. VOXZOGO is being tested in children whose growth plates are still "open," typically those under 18 years of age. Approximately 25% of people with achondroplasia fall into this category.
VOXZOGO U.S. Important Safety Information
What is VOXZOGO used for?
What is the most important safety information about VOXZOGO?
What are the most common side effects of VOXZOGO?
How is VOXZOGO taken?
What should you tell the doctor before or during taking VOXZOGO?
You may report side effects to BioMarin at 1-866-906-6100. You are encouraged to report negative side effects of prescription drugs to the FDA. Visit www.fda.gov/medwatch , or call 1-800-FDA-1088.
Please see additional safety information in the full Prescribing Information and Patient Information .
Founded in 1997, BioMarin is a global biotechnology company dedicated to transforming lives through genetic discovery. The company develops and commercializes targeted therapies that address the root cause of genetic conditions. BioMarin's unparalleled research and development capabilities have resulted in eight transformational commercial therapies for patients with rare genetic disorders. The company's distinctive approach to drug discovery has produced a diverse pipeline of commercial, clinical, and pre-clinical candidates that address a significant unmet medical need, have well-understood biology, and provide an opportunity to be first-to-market or offer a substantial benefit over existing treatment options. For additional information, please visit www.biomarin.com .
Forward-Looking Statements
BioMarin® and VOXZOGO® are registered trademarks of BioMarin Pharmaceutical Inc.
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