Biogen, Eisai get USFDA nod for Leqembi Iqlik Subcutaneous Injection for maintenance dosing for early Alzheimer’s Disease
Tokyo: Eisai Co., Ltd. and Biogen Inc. have announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved the Biologics License Application (BLA) for once weekly lecanemab-irmb subcutaneous injection (U.S. brand name: LEQEMBI IQLIK, pronounced “I Click”) for maintenance dosing.
LEQEMBI IQLIK is a subcutaneous autoinjector (SC-AI) developed by Eisai, containing 360 mg/1.8 mL (200 mg/mL) that can be administered in approximately 15 seconds. LEQEMBI IQLIK auto injector is indicated for maintenance dosing to treat Alzheimer’s disease (AD) in patients with mild cognitive impairment (MCI) or mild dementia stage of disease (collectively referred to as early AD) in the U.S. After 18 months of LEQEMBI (lecanemab-irmb) intravenous (IV) treatment at 10 mg/kg every two weeks, patients may either continue IV infusions at 10 mg/kg once every four weeks or start the new weekly 360 mg subcutaneous injection using the LEQEMBI IQLIK autoinjector.
The BLA is based on LEQEMBI subcutaneous (SC) sub-studies of the Phase 3 Clarity AD open-label extension (OLE) trial in individuals with early AD, which evaluated a range of subcutaneous doses. Data shows that transitioning to the weekly LEQEMBI IQLIK autoinjector after 18 months of the initiation dose (10 mg/kg IV every two weeks) maintains clinical and biomarker benefits comparable to continued IV dosing. The safety of LEQEMBI IQLIK autoinjector was studied in over 600 patients at a range of doses as part of the Clarity AD OLE.
49 patients received a weekly 360 mg subcutaneous maintenance dose after at least 18 months of 10 mg/kg IV every two weeks.
ARIA rates in patients who received a weekly 360 mg subcutaneous maintenance dose were similar to ARIA rates reported in patients who continued with the IV dose after 18 months and are similar to the background rates of ARIA in patients without treatment. ARIA is usually asymptomatic, although serious and life-threatening events can occur. ARIA can be fatal. Most ARIA with LEQEMBI occurs within the first 6 months of IV initiation treatment.
AD is a progressive, relentless disease with amyloid beta (Aβ) and tau as hallmarks, caused by a continuous underlying neurotoxic process that begins before amyloid plaque removal and continues afterward. Only LEQEMBI fights AD in two ways – targeting both amyloid plaque and protofibrils, which can impact tau downstream. Due to the reaccumulation of AD biomarkers and return to placebo rate of decline after therapy is stopped, maintenance treatment with once-weekly SC injection or once every four weeks of IV therapy offers patients options to continue slowing the disease progression and prolong the benefit of therapy, with the goal of helping patients maintain who they are for longer.
- In the Clarity AD core study, the mean change from baseline between the lecanemab IV once every 2 weeks treated group and the placebo group after 18 months was -0.45 (P=0.00005) on the primary endpoint of CDR-SB global cognitive and functional scale.
- To provide context, a change from 0.5 to 1 on the Clinical Dementia Rating (CDR) score domains of Memory, Community Affairs and Home/Hobbies reflects a shift from mild impairment to loss of independence. This can affect a person’s ability to be left alone safely, recall recent events, participate in daily activities, manage household tasks, and engage in hobbies and intellectual interests.6, 7
- At 48 months of treatment through the Clarity AD core study and its OLE, data showed lecanemab demonstrated a reduction in cognitive decline measured by CDR-SB of -1.75 points compared to the expected decline observed in the Alzheimer’s Disease Neuroimaging Initiative (ADNI)*2 cohort.
- Similarly, when benchmarked against the expected decline in the BioFINDER*3 cohort, lecanemab showed a reduction of -2.17 points measured by CDR-SB at the four-year mark.
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