Apellis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. provided an update on its review of rare events of retinal vasculitis reported in real-world treatment with SYFOVRE (pegcetacoplan injection) for geographic atrophy (GA) secondary to age-related macular degeneration (AMD).
“The safety of patients has always been – and continues to be – our top priority at Apellis,” said Cedric Francois, MD, PhD, co-founder and chief executive officer of Apellis. “Following 68,000 commercial vials distributed and 23,000 clinical trial injections to date, these events continue to be very rare. Additionally, as part of our ongoing review, we have seen no indication that drug product or manufacturing issues contributed to these events. We will continue to collaborate with the retina community to deliver a safe, effective treatment for GA and look forward to sharing long-term clinical data on SYFOVRE on July 30, 2023, at the ASRS Annual Scientific Meeting.”
Apellis has been conducting a thorough evaluation following these reported events, including a review of the SYFOVRE manufacturing process and drug product and of the safety data from the company’s phase 3 clinical trials of SYFOVRE. There were no changes in the formulation of the product between phase 3 clinical trials and commercial supply.
Based on this review, there is no indication that drug product or manufacturing issues contributed to these events, and there were no new safety findings in the clinical trials upon secondary review. Specifically:
- No manufacturing related issues impacting product quality were identified
- No quality issues and no contaminants (e.g., endotoxins) were discovered
- No single manufacturing lot was implicated
- No indication of drug related immunogenicity was observed in the clinical trial data
- Zero events of retinal vasculitis were reported by investigators or identified by an independent reading center in the Phase 3 clinical trials. In addition:
- Apellis re-reviewed all intraocular inflammation (IOI) cases and confirmed no vasculitis events
- External retina/uveitis specialists re-reviewed all severe IOI cases and further confirmed no vasculitis events
- Apellis re-reviewed all intraocular inflammation (IOI) cases and confirmed no vasculitis events
Apellis is working closely with the retina community as it continues to investigate potential contributing factors and plans to continue to provide updates.
Apellis also provided an update on the events of retinal vasculitis reported to date:
- Since launch, Apellis has in total seven confirmed events of retinal vasculitis (4 occlusive, 3 non-occlusive) as determined by Apellis' internal safety committee and external retina/uveitis specialists. Two of these events followed injections in April, two in May, and three in June.
- Apellis is also evaluating one reported event of retinal vasculitis, which the Company has not confirmed.
Apellis can only review and confirm cases that have been reported directly to the company and will continue to submit all reported adverse events to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) consistent with reporting guidelines for drug manufacturers.
As of July 29, 2023, more than 68,000 vials of SYFOVRE have been distributed since FDA approval, including commercial vials shipped and sample vials distributed to physician practices. In addition, more than 23,000 SYFOVRE injections have been administered in clinical trials to date.
Seven oral presentations on SYFOVRE and GA will be presented at the American Society of Retina Specialists (ASRS) Annual Scientific Meeting which is being held July 28 to August 1 in Seattle. Highlights will include new 30-month safety and efficacy data of SYFOVRE in patients with GA from the GALE long-term extension study.
SYFOVRE was approved by the FDA on February 17, 2023 based on positive results from the phase 3 OAKS and DERBY studies at 24 months across a broad and clinically diverse population of more than 1,200 patients.
About the GALE long-term extension study
GALE (n=792) is a Phase 3, multicenter, open-label, extension study to evaluate the long-term efficacy and safety of SYFOVRE® (pegcetacoplan injection) in patients with geographic atrophy (GA) secondary to age-related macular degeneration (AMD). The objectives of the study are to evaluate the long-term incidence and severity of ocular and systemic treatment emergent adverse events as well as change in the total area of GA lesions as measured by fundus autofluorescence. More than 80-percent of participants who completed the OAKS and DERBY studies entered the GALE study.
About the phase 3 OAKS and DERBY studies
OAKS (n=637) and DERBY (n=621) are phase 3, multicenter, randomized, double-masked, sham-controlled studies comparing the efficacy and safety of SYFOVRE (pegcetacoplan injection) with sham injections across a broad and heterogenous population of patients with geographic atrophy (GA) secondary to age-related macular degeneration (AMD). The studies evaluated the efficacy of monthly and every-other-month SYFOVRE in patients with GA assessed by change in the total area of GA lesions from baseline as measured by fundus autofluorescence. In phase 3 studies at 24 months, both every-other-month and monthly SYFOVRE reduced GA lesion growth with increasing effects over time and showed a well-demonstrated safety profile.
About SYFOVRE (pegcetacoplan injection)
SYFOVRE (pegcetacoplan injection) is the first and only approved therapy for geographic atrophy (GA). By targeting C3, SYFOVRE is designed to provide comprehensive control of the complement cascade, part of the body’s immune system. SYFOVRE is approved in the United States for the treatment of GA secondary to age-related macular degeneration.
Marketing applications are currently under review with five regulatory agencies worldwide. A decision in the EU is expected in early 2024, and decisions in Canada, Australia, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom are expected in the first half of 2024.