Pemigatinib: First Approval
Sheridan M. Hoy1
© Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2020
Abstract
Pemigatinib (PEMAZYRE™), a small molecule inhibitor of fibroblast growth factor receptor (FGFR) 1, FGFR2 and FGFR3, received accelerated approval in April 2020 in the USA for the treatment of adults with previously treated, unresectable, locally advanced or metastatic cholangiocarcinoma and a FGFR2 fusion or other rearrangement, as detected by a US FDA-approved test. Developed by Incyte Corporation, it is the first targeted treatment for cholangiocarcinoma in the USA. The recommended dosage of pemigatinib is 13.5 mg once daily, administered orally with or without food, on days 1–14 of a 21-day cycle until disease progression or unacceptable toxicity. Pemigatinib received orphan designation for the treatment of myeloid/lymphoid neoplasms with eosinophilia and rearrangement of PDGFRA, PDGFRB or FGFR1, or with PCM1-JAK2 in August 2019 in the USA. A regulatory assessment for pemigatinib as a treatment for adults with locally advanced or metastatic cholangiocar- cinoma and a FGFR2 fusion or rearrangement that is relapsed or refractory after ≥ 1 line of systemic therapy is underway in the EU. Pemigatinib is also undergoing clinical development in various countries worldwide for use in several other FGFR-driven malignancies (e.g. solid tumour, urothelial carcinoma). This article summarizes the milestones in the development of pemigatinib leading to this first approval for the treatment of adults with previously treated, unresectable, locally advanced or metastatic cholangiocarcinoma and a FGFR2 fusion or other rearrangement, as detected by a US FDA-approved test.
1 Introduction
Cholangiocarcinomas are heterogeneous bile duct tumours classified by their location relative to the liver (i.e. intrahe- patic, perihilar and distal) [1, 2]. While each type differs in terms of its pathogenesis and clinical outcome, the progno- sis and therapeutic options for all are poor [3]. Among the genetic alterations (e.g. fusions and other rearrangements) identified in patients with cholangiocarcinoma are those involving the gene encoding fibroblast growth factor recep- tor 2 (FGFR2; which is involved in cell proliferation, dif- ferentiation and angiogenesis) [3]. FGFR2 alterations have been almost exclusively found in patients with intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma (incidence of ≈ 10–16%), making it a potential therapeutic target in this population [3].Developed by Incyte Corporation, pemigatinib (PEMA-of FGFR1, FGFR2 and FGFR3 [4, 5]. It is the first targeted therapy to be approved (in April 2020) for the treatment of cholangiocarcinoma in the USA, where is indicated in adults with previously treated, unresectable, locally advanced or metastatic cholangiocarcinoma and a FGFR2 fusion or other rearrangement, as detected by a US FDA-approved test [4–6]. This was an accelerated approval based on the results of an open-label, multinational study [NCT02924376 (FIGHT 202)] (see Sect. 2.3) in patients with unresectable locally advanced or metastatic cholangiocarcinoma who had experienced disease progression during or after ≥ 1 prior therapy and who had a FGFR2 gene fusion or other rear- rangement [4–6]. The recommended dosage of pemigatinib is 13.5 mg once daily, administered orally with or without food, on days 1–14 of a 21-day cycle until disease progres- sion or unacceptable toxicity [4]. Local prescribing infor- mation should be consulted for information regarding dose modifications for the management of adverse events and drug interactions [4].
Key milestones in the development of pemigatinib, focusing on its use in the treatment of cholangiocarcinoma. Est. estimated, MAA Marketing Authorisation Application, MLN myeloid/lymphoid neo-plasms with eosinophilia and rearrangement of PDGFRA, PDGFRB or FGFR1, or with PCM1-JAK2, NDA New Drug Application.
Pemigatinib received orphan designation for the treat- ment of myeloid/lymphoid neoplasms with eosinophilia and rearrangement of PDGFRA, PDGFRB or FGFR1, or with PCM1-JAK2 in August 2019 in the USA [7]. A regulatory assessment for pemigatinib as a treatment for adults with locally advanced or metastatic cholangiocarcinoma and a FGFR2 fusion or rearrangement that is relapsed or refrac- tory after ≥ 1 line of systemic therapy is underway in the EU [5]. Pemigatinib is also undergoing clinical development in various countries worldwide for use in several other FGFR- (CDx), with an initial focus on the development of a CDx for pemigatinib in patients with cholangiocarcinoma [8] (see Sect. 2.5).
In December 2018, Incyte Corporation and Innovent Biologics entered into a strategic collaboration and licens- ing agreement for three product candidates [pemigatinib, itacitinib (a JAK1 inhibitor) and parsaclisib (a PI3Kδ inhibi- tor)], all of which were discovered and developed by Incyte [9]. Under the terms of the agreement, Innovent will receive development and commercialization rights for the three prod- uct candidates in haematology and oncology in China, Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan, while Incyte will receive an upfront payment of US$40 million and be eligible to receive a further US$20 million upon the first investigation new drug applica- tion by Innovent in China. Incyte will also be eligible to receive up to US$129 million in potential development and regulatory milestones, up to US$202.5 million in potential commercial.
Chemical structure of pemigatinib
milestones, and tiered royalties from the high teens to the low twenties on future sales of products resulting from the collabo- ration. An option to assist in the promotion of the three product candidates in China has been retained by Incyte [9] alongside all other rights to develop and commercialize pemigatinib out- side of the USA [5].
2 Scientific Summary
2.1 Pharmacodynamics
Pemigatinib is a small molecule kinase inhibitor [4]. It selectively inhibits FGFR1, FGFR2 and FGFR3 [mean half-maximal inhibitory concentration (IC50) of 0.4, 0.5 and 1 nmol/L, respectively), while demonstrating weaker activ- ity against FGFR4 (mean IC50 of 30 nmol/L) and various non-FGFRs (including vascular endothelial growth factor receptor-2/kinase insert domain containing receptor) [IC50 of ≥ 182 nmol/L] [10]. In a tumour xenograft model, FGFR2 autophosphorylation was inhibited by 50% at a plasma pemi- gatinib concentration of 22 nmol/L [10]. In vitro, pemi- gatinib selectively inhibited the growth of tumour cell lines with FGFR1, FGFR2 or FGFR3 alterations compared with those without such aberrations; in xenograft tumour models with translocations in FGFR1 (myeloid leukaemia), FGFR2 (cholangiocarcinoma) or FGFR3 (urothelial carcinoma), it demonstrated potent antitumour activity following oral dos- ing [10].
In the dose escalation part (n = 45; data from an abstract) of an ongoing first-in human phase I/II study [NCT02393248 (FIGHT 101)] in adults with advanced malignancies, the phar- macologically active dosage of pemigatinib was 9 mg once daily (data cut-off date of 19 February 2019) [11]. Although the maximum tolerated dose was not reached, the maximum safely administered dose was 20 mg. Based on pharmacody- namic, pharmacokinetic and safety data, the recommended phase II dosage was determined to be 13.5 mg once daily [11]. Subsequent to its effect on FGFR inhibition, pemigatinib increases serum phosphate levels, with the increase expo- sure-dependent across a 1–20 mg once daily dosage range (i.e. 0.07- to 1.5-fold the recommended dosage) [4]. At a supratherapeutic dose (i.e. 1.5-fold the maximum recommended dose), pemigatinib was not associated with a mean > 20 ms increase in the corrected QT interval [4].
2.2 Pharmacokinetics
Food has no clinically meaningful effect on the pharmacoki- netics of pemigatinib [4] (see Sect. 1). The median time to a maximum plasma pemigatinib concentration was 1.13 h. Steady-state was reached within 4 days of therapy with once- daily pemigatinib; at steady state, pemigatinib concentrations increased proportionally over a 1–20 mg dose range. Following multiple doses of once-daily pemigatinib, the median accumu- lation ratio of pemigatinib was 1.63 (range of 0.63–3.28). At concentrations ranging from 1–10 μmol/L, pemigatinib was 90.6% bound to human plasma proteins in vitro [4].
In a study in humans, the major drug-related moiety in plasma was unchanged pemigatinib [4]. In vitro, pemigatinib was primarily metabolized by cytochrome P450 (CYP) 3A4. The major route of elimination is via the faeces, with 82.4% (1.4% as unchanged) and 12.6% (1% as unchanged) of a single oral 11 mg dose of radiolabelled pemigatinib excreted in the faeces and urine. The geometric mean elimination half-life of pemigatinib was 15.4 h [4].
The systemic exposure of pemigatinib was not affected to a clinically relevant extent by age (21–79 years), sex, eth- nicity/race, bodyweight (39.8–156 kg), mild to moderate hepatic impairment or mild to moderate renal impairment [4]. The effect of severe hepatic impairment, severe renal impairment or renal dialysis in end-stage renal disease is not yet known [4].
Coadministration of pemigatinib and moderate or strong CYP3A inhibitors (resulting in elevated pemigatinib area under the concentration–time curve and maximum concen- tration values) should be avoided; if the concomitant use of pemigatinib with moderate or strong CYP3A inhibitors is unavoidable, the pemigatinib dose should be reduced [4]. Coadministration of pemigatinib with moderate or strong CYP3A inducers should also be avoided [4]. Local prescrib- ing information should be consulted for detailed information regarding these and other potential drug interactions.
2.3 Therapeutic Trials
Pemigatinib showed promise as a treatment for advanced malignancies with FGF/FGFR alterations in Japanese adults participating in an open-label, multicentre, phase I study [NCT03235570 (FIGHT 102)] (data from an abstract) [12]. At a data cut-off date of 18 January 2019, a partial response (PR) was achieved in one patient (who had metastatic adeno- carcinoma and FGFR2 amplification), with stable disease occurring in nine patients. Of the 25 patients enrolled in FIGHT 102, 9 participated in the dose escalation part (in which pemigatinib was administered orally, initially as a 9 mg once daily dosage and then as a 13.5 mg once daily dosage, on days 1–14 of a 21-day cycle) and 16 in the dose expansion part (in which pemigatinib was administered as a 13.5 mg once daily dosage on days 1–14 of a 21-day cycle) [12].
Preliminary clinical efficacy with pemigatinib was dem- onstrated in an ongoing, two-cohort, open-label, multi- national, phase II study [NCT02872714 (FIGHT 201)] in adults with urothelial carcinoma (data from an abstract) [13]. In cohort A (n = 64; patients with FGFR3 fusions/ mutations), the best overall response was a confirmed PR in 7 patients, an unconfirmed PR in 6 patients (6 ongoing) and stable disease in 17 patients (10 ongoing); the over- all response rate (including unconfirmed PRs) was 25% (data cut-off date of 7 February 2018). In cohort B (n = 36; patients with FGF/FGFR genetic alterations other than FGFR3), one patient with a FGF10 amplification achieved an unconfirmed PR. FIGHT 201 is currently recruiting patients with unresectable or metastatic urothelial carcinoma who have failed one therapy or are platinum ineligible, and who have FGFR3 fusions/mutations (cohort A) or other FGF/FGFR alterations (cohort B). In both cohorts, patients received oral pemigatinib 13.5 mg once daily on days 1–14 of a 21-day cycle until disease progression or unacceptable toxicity. The primary endpoint is overall response rate as assessed by independent review in cohort A [13].
An encouraging and durable response to pemigatinib therapy (administered orally at a dosage of 13.5 mg once daily on days 1–14 of a 21-day cycle until disease progres- sion, unacceptable toxicity, withdrawal of consent, or phy- sician decision) was seen in adults with previously treated, locally advanced or metastatic cholangiocarcinoma with FGFR2 alterations participating in a three-cohort (FGFR2 fusions or rearrangements; other FGF/FGFR alterations; no FGF/FGFR alterations), open-label, multinational, phase II study [NCT02924376 (FIGHT 202)] [14]. At a data cut- off date of 22 March 2019, an objective response [defined as a best response of confirmed complete response (CR) or confirmed PR; primary endpoint] occurred in 35.5% of 107 patients with FGFR2 fusions or rearrangements (median follow-up duration of 15.4 months), with beneficial effects observed across all of the assessed demographic and dis- ease subgroups. CR, PR and stable disease rates were 2.8%, 32.7% and 46.7%, respectively; the median time to first response and the median duration of response was 2.7 and
7.5 months. At the data cut-off date, median progression-free survival (PFS) was 6.9 months, with benefits seen across most of the subgroups; overall survival data were not mature at this timepoint, with 37% of patients in the cohort having died (median overall survival of 21.1 months). Reductions in the best percentage change from baseline in target lesion size (sum of diameters) occurred in 88% of 103 patients with post-baseline measurements [14].
None of the patients in the other FGF/FGFR altera- tions or no FGF/FGFR alterations cohorts (n = 20 and 18) achieved an objective response (median follow-up duration of 19.9 and 24.2 months); stable disease was reported in 40.0% and 22.2% of patients [14]. In the respective cohorts, median PFS was 2.1 and 1.7 months and median overall survival was 6.7 and 4.0 months [14].
Patients in FIGHT 202 had an Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group performance status score of 0–2 and doc- umented disease progression following ≥ 1 treatment [14]. The median duration of treatment in the FGFR2 fusions or rearrangements, other FGF/FGFR alterations and no FGF/ FGFR alterations cohorts was 7.2, 1.4 and 1.3 months, respectively. Tumour response was assessed by independ- ent review according to RECIST 1.1 [14].
2.4 Adverse Events
Oral pemigatinib had a manageable safety profile in adults with previously treated, locally advanced or metastatic chol- angiocarcinoma and FGFR2 alterations participating in FIGHT 202 [14]. Moreover, it was generally well tolerated in adults with advanced malignancies in FIGHT 101 [11] and those with urothelial carcinoma in FIGHT 201 [13], and demonstrated a tolerability profile in Japanese adults consist- ent with previous reports in FIGHT 102 [12].
Therapy with pemigatinib, like other FGFR inhibi- tors, is associated with hyperphosphataemia (owing to the importance of FGFR1 in phosphate homeostasis) [see Sect. 2.1]. In FIGHT 202, hyperphosphataemia was the most frequently reported adverse event (AE), occurring in 60% of 146 patients (at a grade 1–2 level of severity; no grade ≥ 3 events were observed). It occurred early following treatment initiation (median time to onset of 15 days) and was managed with a low phosphate diet, concomitant phos- phate binders, diuretics, dose reductions or dose interrup- tions [14]. These data are supported by those from a pooled analysis of clinical studies, in which hyperphosphataemia (defined as a laboratory value above the upper limit of nor- mal) was reported in 92% of 466 patients (median time to onset of 8 days); 29% of patients required phosphate-lower- ing therapy [4]. Patients receiving pemigatinib should thus be monitored for hyperphosphatemia (see local prescribing information for further details) [4].
Other frequently reported (incidence ≥ 40%) AEs in FIGHT 202 included alopecia, diarrhoea, fatigue and dys- geusia [14]. Grade 3 or higher AEs occurred in 64% of patients in this study, with hypophosphataemia (12% of patients), arthralgia (6%), stomatitis (5%), hyponatraemia (5%), abdominal pain (5%) and fatigue (5%) the most fre- quently reported. Of note, hyponatraemia was the only grade 4 AE observed (n = 1) [14]. Therapy with pemigatinib is also associated with retinal pigment epithelial detachment (RPED) [4]. In the pooled analysis, RPED was observed in 6% of 466 patients, with grade 3–4 RPED reported in 0.6%. The median time to first onset of RPED was 62 days. It resulted in dose reduction, dose interruption and perma- nent treatment discontinuation in 0.4%, 1.7% and 0.4% of patients, respectively. Among the patients requiring dose modification for RPED, 87.5% had their RPED resolved or improved to a grade 1 level of severity. Patients receiving pemigatinib should thus undergo a comprehensive oph- thalmological examination prior to and during pemigatinib therapy [4].
Serious AEs occurred in 45% of patients in FIGHT 202, with abdominal pain, pyrexia, cholangitis and pleural effu- sion (each occurring in 7, 7, 5 and 5 patients, respectively) the most frequently (n > 3) reported [14]. AEs leading to dose reductions were reported in 14% of patients, with stomatitis, palmar–plantar erythrodysaesthesia syndrome and arthralgia (each occurring in 5 patients) and asthe- nia and onychomadesis (each occurring in 2 patients) the most commonly (n ≥ 2) reported. AEs resulting in dose interruptions occurred in 42% of patients, most commonly (n ≥ 4) stomatitis (11 patients), palmar–plantar erythrodys- aesthesia syndrome (8 patients), arthralgia (7 patients), fatigue (6 patients) and abdominal pain (4 patients). Treatment discontinuations because of AEs [most com- monly intestinal obstruction and acute kidney injury (each n = 2)] occurred in 9% of patients. Overall, 49% of the patients died during FIGHT 202, with disease progres- sion (in 42% of patients) the most common primary cause of death. Of note, 6 of the 71 patients who died had fatal treatment-emergent AEs [failure to thrive (n = 2) and bile duct obstruction, sepsis, pleural effusion and cholangitis [n = 1]); none of the deaths were considered (by the inves- tigators) to be related to pemigatinib [14].
2.5 Companion Diagnostic
The FoundationOne®CDx assay, developed by Foundation Medicine, was approved by the US FDA in April 2020 for use by healthcare professionals to aid in the identification of patients with FGFR2 fusions and select rearrangements who may benefit from therapy with pemigatinib [15].
2.6 Ongoing Clinical Trials
There are several ongoing phase I (NCT04088188; NCT04258527), I/II [NCT02393248 (FIGHT 101) and II [NCT02872714 (FIGHT 201); NCT02924376 (FIGHT 202); NCT03011372 (FIGHT 203); NCT04003610 (FIGHT 205); NCT03822117 (FIGHT 207); NCT04003623 (FIGHT 208); NCT03914794; NCT04096417; NCT04256980; NCT04294277 (PEGASUS)] studies of pemigatinib in patients with FGFR-driven malignancies, including cholan- giocarcinoma, solid tumours and urothelial carcinoma.
A randomized, open-label, multinational, phase III study is currently recruiting patients with unresectable or meta- static cholangiocarcinoma and FGFR2 rearrangement to evaluate the first-line efficacy and safety of pemigatinib ver- sus gemcitabine plus cisplatin [NCT03656536 (FIGHT 302).
3 Current Status
Pemigatinib received its first approval on 17 April 2020 for the treatment of adults with previously treated, unresect- able, locally advanced or metastatic cholangiocarcinoma and a FGFR2 fusion or other rearrangement, as detected by a US FDA-approved test (FoundationOne®CDx), in the USA [4–6].
Compliance with Ethical Standards
Funding The preparation of this review was not supported by any external funding.
Conflict of interest During the peer review process the manufacturer of the agent under review was offered an opportunity to comment on the article. Changes resulting from any comments received were made by the authors on the basis of scientific completeness and accuracy. Sheridan Hoy is a salaried employee of Adis International Ltd/Spring- er Nature, is responsible for the article content and declares no relevant conflicts of interest.
References
1. Rizvi S, Gores GJ. Pathogenesis, diagnosis, and management of cholangiocarcinoma. Gastroenterology. 2013;145(6):1215–29.
2. US National Library of Medicine. Genetics Home Reference: Cholangiocarcinoma. 2020;2020.
3. Pellino A, Loupakis F, Cadamuro M, et al. Precision medicine in cholangiocarcinoma. Transl Gastroenterol Hepatol. 2018;3:40.
4. Incyte Corporation. PEMAZYRE™ (pemigatinib) tablets, for oral use: US prescribing information. 2020. http://www.fda.gov/. Accessed 28 Apr 2020.
5. Incyte Corporation. FDA approves Incyte’s Pemazyre™ (pemi- gatinib) as first targeted treatment for adults with previously treated, unresectable locally advanced or metastatic cholangiocarcinoma [media release]. 17 Apr 2020. http://www.incyte.com.
6. US FDA. FDA grants accelerated approval to pemigatinib for cholangiocarcinoma with an FGFR2 rearrangement or fusion [media release]. 17 Apr 2020. http://www.fda.gov/.
7. US FDA. Orphan drug designations and approvals. 2019. https
://www.accessdata.fda.gov/scripts/opdlisting/oopd/index.cfm. Accessed 08 May 2020.
8. Incyte Corporation. Incyte and Foundation Medicine announce agreement to develop companion diagnostic for pemigatinib (INCB54828), a selective FGFR inhibitor, in patients with chol- angiocarcinoma [media release]. 11 Apr 2018. http://www.incyt e.com.
9. Incyte Corporation. Innovent and Incyte announce strategic col- laboration and licensing agreement for three clinical-stage product candidates in China [media release]. 16 Dec 2018. http://www. incyte.com.
10. Liu PCC, Koblish H, Wu L, et al. INCB054828 (pemigatinib), a potent and selective inhibitor of fibroblast growth factor receptors 1, 2, and 3, displays activity against genetically defined tumor models. PLoS One. 2020;15(4):e0231877.
11. Subbiah V, Barve M, Iannotti N, et al. FIGHT-101: a phase 1/2 study of pemigatinib, a highly selective fibroblast growth factor receptor (FGFR) inhibitor, as monotherapy and as combination therapy in patients with advanced malignancies [abstract no.A078]. In: AACR-NCI-EORTC International Conference on Molecular Targets and Cancer Therapeutics. 2019.
12. Kuboki Y, Furukawa M, Takahashi Y, et al. Preliminary results from FIGHT-102: a phase 1 study of pemigatinib in Japanese patients with advanced malignancies [abstract no. P1-156]. Ann Oncol. 2019;30(Suppl 6):vi125.
13. Necchi A, Pouessel D, Leibowitz-Amit R, et al. Interim results of FIGHT-201, a phase II, open-label, multicenter study of INCB054828 in patients (pts) with metastatic or surgically unre- sectable urothelial carcinoma (UC) harboring fibroblast growth factor (FGF)/FGF receptor (FGFR) genetic alterations (GA) [abstract no. 900P]. Ann Oncol. 2018;29(Suppl 8):viii319–viii20.
14. Abou-Alfa GK, Sahai V, Hollebecque A, et al. Pemigatinib for previously treated, locally advanced or metastatic cholangiocar- cinoma: a multicentre, open-label, phase 2 study. Lancet Oncol. 2020;21(5):671–84.
15. Foundation Medicine. Foundation Medicine receives FDA approval for FoundationOne(Rm)CDx as the companion diagnos- tic for Pemazyre(Tm) (pemigatinib), the first FDA-approved tar- geted therapy for adults with previously treated locally advanced or metastatic cholangiocarcinoma [media release]. 17 Apr 2020. http://www.foundationmedicine.com.