FDA approved Erleada (apalutamide) for the treatment of non-metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer. This is the first FDA-approved treatment for this indication.
“This approval is the first to use the endpoint of metastasis-free survival, measuring the length of time that tumors did not spread to other parts of the body or that death occurred after starting treatment,” said Richard Pazdur, director of the FDA’s Oncology Center of Excellence and acting director of the Office of Hematology and Oncology Products, said in a statement. “In the trial supporting approval, Erleada had a robust effect on this endpoint. This demonstrates the agency’s commitment to using novel endpoints to expedite important therapies to the American public.”
The FDA granted the approval of Erleada to Janssen Pharmaceutical Companies, a unit of Johnson & Johnson.
Erleada works by blocking the effect of androgens, a type of hormone, on the tumor. These androgens, such as testosterone, can promote tumor growth.
The safety and efficacy of Erleada was based on a randomized clinical trial of 1,207 patients with non-metastatic, castration-resistant prostate cancer. Patients in the trial either received Erleada or a placebo. All patients were also treated with hormone therapy, either with gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) analog therapy or surgical castration. The median metastasis-free survival for patients taking Erleada was 40.5 months compared to 16.2 months for patients taking a placebo.
Common side effects of Erleada include fatigue, high blood pressure (hypertension), rash, diarrhea, nausea, weight loss, joint pain (arthralgia), falls, hot flush, decreased appetite, fractures and swelling in the limbs (peripheral edema).
Severe side effects of Erleada include falls, fractures and seizures.
Erleada’s sponsor is the first participant in the FDA’s recently-announced Clinical Data Summary Pilot Program, an effort to provide stakeholders with more usable information on the clinical evidence supporting drug product approvals and more transparency into the FDA’s decision-making process. Soon after approval, information from the clinical summary report will post with the Erleada entry on Drugs@FDA and on the new pilot program landing page.
Late next month, NCI is expected to publish the new criteria it uses to bestow designations on America’s network of cancer centers.
