Safety and pharmacokinetics of a biosimilar of denosumab (KN012): Phase 1 and bioequivalence study in healthy Chinese subjects

The safety and bone antiresorptive effect of a single subcutaneous dose of AMG 162, a human monoclonal antibody to RANKL, was investigated in 49 postmenopausal women. AMG 162 is a potent antiresorptive agent for diseases such as osteoporosis. RANKL is an essential osteoclastic differentiation and activation factor. The bone antiresorptive activity and safety of AMG 162, a fully human monoclonal antibody to RANKL, were evaluated in postmenopausal women in this randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, single-dose, dose escalation study. Six cohorts of eight to nine women were randomly assigned to receive a single subcutaneous injection of either AMG 162 or placebo (3:1 ratio). AMG 162 doses were 0.01, 0.03, 0.1, 0.3, 1.0, and 3.0 mg/kg. Subjects were followed up to 6 months in all cohorts and 9 months in the three highest dose cohorts. Second morning void urinary N-telopeptide/creatinine (NTX; Osteomark), serum NTX, and serum bone-specific alkaline phosphatase (BALP, Ostase) were assessed as bone turnover markers. Forty-nine women were enrolled. A single subcutaneous dose of AMG 162 resulted in a dose-dependent, rapid (within 12 h), profound (up to 84%), and sustained (up to 6 months) decrease in urinary NTX. At 6 months, there was a mean change from baseline of -81% in the 3.0 mg/kg AMG 162 group compared with -10% in the placebo group; serum NTX changes were -56% and 2%, respectively. BALP levels did not decrease remarkably until after 1 month, indicating that the effect of AMG 162 is primarily antiresorptive. Intact parathyroid hormone (PTH) levels increased up to approximately 3-fold after 4 days in the 3.0 mg/kg dose group, but returned toward baseline with follow-up. Albumin-adjusted serum calcium did not decrease >10% on average in any group, and no subject had values below 2 mmol/liter. AMG 162 was well tolerated. No related serious adverse events occurred. No clinically meaningful laboratory changes, other than those described above, were observed. In summary, a single subcutaneous dose of AMG 162 resulted in a dose-dependent rapid and sustained decrease from baseline in bone turnover and could be an effective and convenient treatment for osteoporosis.

Acute and chronic shortages of various pharmaceuticals and particularly of sterile injectable products are being reported on a global scale, prompting evaluation of more effective strategies to manage current shortages and development of new, high-quality pharmaceutical products to mitigate the risk of potential future shortages. Oncology drugs such as liposomal doxorubicin and 5-fluorouracil represent examples of first-choice drugs critically affected by shortages. Survey results indicate that the majority of hospitals and practicing oncologists have experienced drug shortages, which may have compromised patient safety and clinical outcomes, and increased health care costs, due to delays or changes in treatment regimens. Clinical trials evaluating novel agents in combination with standard-of-care drugs are also being affected by drug shortages. Clinical and ethical considerations on treatment objectives, drug indication, and availability of alternative options may help in prioritizing cancer patients involved in active drug shortages. The United States Food and Drug Administration and the European Medicines Agency have identified manufacturing problems, delays in supply, and lack of available active ingredients as the most frequent causes of recent or ongoing drug shortages, and have released specific guidance to monitor, manage, and reduce the risk of shortages. The upcoming loss of exclusivity for a number of anticancer biologics, together with the introduction of an abbreviated approval pathway for biosimilars, raises the question of whether these products will be vulnerable to shortages. Future supply by reliable manufacturers of well characterized biosimilar monoclonal antibodies, developed in compliance with regulatory and manufacturing guidelines and with substantial investments, may contribute to prevent future biologics shortages and ensure access to effective and safe treatment options for patients with cancer. Preclinical and clinical characterization is ongoing for potential biosimilars of trastuzumab, rituximab, and bevacizumab, with promising results.

To explore the comparative performance of the recently proposed bioequivalence (BE) approaches, FDA(s) and EMA(s), by the FDA working group on highly variable drugs and the EMA, respectively; to compare the impact of the GMR-constraint on the two approaches; and to provide representative plots of % BE acceptance as a function of geometric mean ratio, sample size and variability.