FDA Declines to Approve APL-130277 for Treating ‘Off’ Periods; More Information Requested

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has told Sunovion Pharmaceuticals that it is unable to approve APL-130277 (apomorphine sublingual film) in its present form for the treatment of Parkinson’s disease “off”  periods.

Sunovion submitted new drug application for APL-130277 in April 2018. Now the FDA has now issued a “complete response letter” in which it requests additional information, but no new clinical trials.

Off periods in Parkinson’s are characterized by the reappearance or worsening of symptoms — such as tremors and dyskinesia (involuntary movements) — due to a gradual decline in levodopa’s effectiveness as a therapy. About half of all patients on levodopa experience off episodes, which, although frequent in the morning after awakening, may occur multiple times throughout the day. These episodes become more frequent and severe as the disease progresses.

Noting the frequency and scarce treatment options for off periods, Antony Loebel, MD, Sunovion’s executive vice president and chief medical officer, said in a press release that “Sunovion remains committed to working with the FDA to address its requests so that we can bring apomorphine sublingual film (APL-130277) to patients as expeditiously as possible.”

Currently, Parkinson’s patients in the U.S. have only apomorphine — brand name Apokyn (apomorphine hydrochloride, US WorldMeds), as an approved medicine for off periods. Apomorphine is able to enter the brain quickly and, similar to levodopa, stimulate dopamine receptors to provide short-term relief. However, Apokyn’s subcutaneous (under-the-skin) delivery may cause pain and injection-site reactions.

In turn, APL-130277 is a sublingual (under the tongue) formulation of apomorphine, intended to provide on-demand and fast-acting lessening of all types of off episodes, meaning those that are unpredictable, and those that occur at the end-of-dose or after awakening in the morning. It was designed  to be taken up to five times a day, no sooner than two hours from the prior dose.

APL-130277 contains a two-layer film, one with apomorphine and the other including an acid neutralizer to improve absorption and reduce oral irritation. Compared to Apokyn, APL-130277 is less likely to induce nausea due to a more gradual absorption, said Loebel, who is also the head of global clinical development for Japan-based Sumitomo Dainippon Pharma Group (which owns Sunovion) in an October 2018 interview with Parkinson’s News Today.

The FDA new drug application for APL-130277 was supported by a 12-week, double-blind Phase 3 trial (NCT02469090). The results showed that, within 30 minutes of dosing, the treatment enabled a clinically meaningful reduction in the Movement Disorder Society Unified Parkinson’s Disease Rating Scale Part 3 score, a measure of Parkinson’s motor symptoms, in comparison to placebo.

The benefits were seen as early as 15 minutes post-dose and were maintained for 90 minutes, when the last analysis was conducted. Similar improvements were seen at weeks four, eight and 12. A higher percentage of patients achieving a full-on response — or control of motor symptoms — within 30 minutes with APL-130277 also was observed.

The therapy was well-tolerated, with most treatment-related side effects being mild to moderate and reversible.

Most patients took the treatment two or three times each day, though no minimum dose was required. “So that indicates they’re getting a benefit and … it’s not given on a prescribed schedule — they chose to use it two or three times a day,” David Blum MD, Sunovion’s global head of neurology clinical research, said.

The company is still recruiting for a 24-week, open-label extension study (NCT02542696) at multiple locations. A total of 226 participants are expected to use APL-130277 at 10-35 mg. Outcomes focus on the safety and tolerability of longer-term use, including patient response without Tigan (trimethobenzamide), an antiemetic (a medicine against vomiting and nausea) required as pretreatment to Apokyn.