United Therapeutics' Small Cell Lung Cancer Study Primary Endpoint Not Meet

(RTTNews) - United Therapeutics Corp. (UTHR) announced Monday topline results from the phase 2/3 DISTINCT clinical study evaluating Unituxin (dinutuximab) Injection added to irinotecan compared to irinotecan or topotecan alone in patients with relapsed or refractory small cell lung cancer (SCLC).

The DISTINCT trial did not meet its primary efficacy objective of extending the overall survival with Unituxin and irinotecan versus using irinotecan alone. The safety profile of dinutuximab in DISTINCT was consistent with prior studies and the current Unituxin product label.

United Therapeutics is also pursuing a label expansion for Unituxin in combination with irinotecan and temozolomide for the treatment of pediatric patients with relapsed or refractory neuroblastoma, based on results from the ANBL1221 study conducted by the Children's Oncology Group.

United Therapeutics plans to meet with the FDA to discuss the proposed label expansion in the first half of 2020 and file a supplemental BLA shortly thereafter.

Unituxin is a GD2-binding monoclonal antibody indicated, in combination with granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor (GM-CSF), interleukin-2 (IL-2), and 13-cis-retinoic acid (RA), for the treatment of pediatric patients with high-risk neuroblastoma who achieve at least a partial response to prior first-line multiagent, multimodality therapy.

DISTINCT was a phase 2/3, two-part, open-label, randomized, international, multi-center study of dinutuximab and irinotecan versus irinotecan for second line treatment of patients with relapsed or refractory small cell lung cancer. The phase 2 portion of the study of 12 patients was completed in October 2017.