Gilead Company Wins FDA Approval for CAR T Cancer Therapy for Treatment of Adult Lymphoma

Kite, a Gilead company, announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has granted regular approval to Yescarta™ (axicabtagene ciloleucel), the first chimeric antigen receptor T cell (CAR T) therapy for the treatment of adult patients with relapsed or refractory large B-cell lymphoma after two or more lines of systemic therapy, including diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) not otherwise specified, primary mediastinal large B-cell lymphoma (PMBCL), high-grade B-cell lymphoma, and DLBCL arising from follicular lymphoma (transformed follicular lymphoma, or TFL). Yescarta is not indicated for the treatment of patients with primary central nervous system lymphoma.

CAR T therapy is a breakthrough in hematologic cancer treatment in which a patient’s own T cells are engineered to seek and destroy cancer cells. CAR T therapy is manufactured specifically for each individual patient.

“The FDA approval of Yescarta is a landmark for patients with relapsed or refractory large B-cell lymphoma. This approval would not have been possible without the courageous commitment of patients and clinicians, as well as the ongoing dedication of Kite’s employees,” said Arie Belldegrun, MD, FACS, Founder of Kite. “We must also recognize the FDA for their ability to embrace and support transformational new technologies that treat life-threatening illnesses. We believe this is only the beginning for CAR T therapies.”

“Today is an important day for patients with relapsed or refractory large B-cell lymphoma who have run out of options and have been waiting for new treatments that may help them in their fight against cancer,” said John Milligan, PhD, President and Chief Executive Officer of Gilead Sciences. “With the combined innovation, talent and drive of the Kite and Gilead teams, we will rapidly advance cell therapy research and aim to bring new options to patients with many other types of cancer.”

Yescarta has a Boxed Warning in its product label regarding the risks of cytokine release syndrome (CRS) and neurologic toxicities. A Risk Evaluation and Mitigation Strategy (REMS) has been approved by the FDA for Yescarta. The REMS program will inform and educate healthcare professionals about the risks associated with Yescarta therapy. Training and certification on the REMS program will be an integral part of the final authorization for centers offering Yescarta.

Diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) is the most common aggressive non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL), accounting for three out of every five cases. In the United States each year, there are approximately 7,500 patients with refractory DLBCL who are eligible for CAR T therapy. Historically, when treated with the current standard of care, patients with refractory large B-cell lymphoma had a median overall survival of approximately six months, with only seven percent attaining a complete response. Currently, patients with large B-cell lymphoma in second or later lines of therapy have poor outcomes and greater unmet need, since nearly half of them either do not respond or relapse shortly after transplant.

“With CAR T therapy, we are reengineering a patient’s own immune system to detect and kill cancer cells, and the results have been impressive,” said Frederick L. Locke, MD, ZUMA-1 Co-Lead Investigator and Vice Chair of the Department of Blood and Marrow Transplant and Cellular Immunotherapy at Moffitt Cancer Center in Tampa, Florida. “Many of the patients that received CAR T therapy had already relapsed several times with traditional treatments such as chemotherapy or hematopoietic stem cell transplant. Now, thanks to this new therapy many patients are in remission for months.”

“This therapy is a new option for patients with relapsed or refractory large B-cell lymphoma who have run out of treatment options and face a dire prognosis,” said Louis J. DeGennaro, PhD, President and Chief Executive Officer of The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society (LLS). “Early on, LLS recognized the potential of CAR T therapy and we are proud to be part of making this historic approval possible.”

“Engineered cell therapies like Yescarta represent the potential for a changing treatment paradigm for cancer patients,” said David Chang, MD, PhD, Worldwide Head of Research and Development and Chief Medical Officer at Kite. “Together, Gilead and Kite will accelerate studies of CAR T therapy in multiple blood cancers and advance other cell therapy approaches for solid tumors, with the goal of helping patients with diverse cancers benefit from this new era of personalized cancer therapy.”

Yescarta will be manufactured in Kite’s state-of-the-art commercial manufacturing facility in El Segundo, California. In the ZUMA-1 pivotal trial, Kite demonstrated a 99 percent manufacturing success rate with a median manufacturing turnaround time of 17 days, which is important to patients given the potential for rapid disease progression in this population.

In 2017, Kite established a multi-disciplinary field team focused on providing education and logistics training for centers. Upon Yescarta’s approval, this team will provide final site certification to 16 centers, enabling them to make Yescarta available to appropriate patients. This support is designed to assure the safe and effective use of Yescarta for patients and physicians. Kite is actively working to train more than 30 additional centers with an eventual target of 70 to 90 centers across the United States.

In support of Yescarta therapy, Kite has developed Kite Konnect™, a program enabled by an integrated technology platform that focuses on providing information and assistance throughout the Yescarta therapy process, including courier tracking for shipments and manufacturing status updates. Kite Konnect also will provide information related to insurance benefits and third-party resources available for travel support.

The list price of Yescarta in the United States is $373,000.

Please see full press release for further information.