Safety Events Of Interest Research Articles

Abstract PO4-17-02: A multicenter, prospective, observational study of patients receiving trastuzumab deruxtecan for the treatment of HER2-positive and HER2-low unresectable and/or metastatic breast cancer: DESTINY-Breast-RESPOND

Abstract Background: Approximately 20% of breast cancer (BC) cases are human epidermal growth factor receptor 2-positive (HER2+; immunohistochemistry [IHC] 3+, IHC 2+/in-situ hybridization [ISH]+), and up to ~50% of patients with primary or metastatic BC (mBC) have HER2-low tumors (IHC 1+, IHC 2+/ISH−), a new therapeutically targetable subset of BC. Trastuzumab deruxtecan (T-DXd) is a HER2-directed antibody-drug conjugate approved in the USA, EU, and other countries for the treatment of adult patients with unresectable or metastatic HER2+ BC who have received a prior anti-HER2-based regimen, or with unresectable or metastatic HER2-low BC who have received a prior chemotherapy (CTx) in the metastatic setting or developed disease recurrence during or within 6 months of completing adjuvant CTx. Approvals followed positive results from the DESTINY-Breast03 and DESTINY-Breast04 clinical trials. In DESTINY-Breast03, T-DXd improved median progression-free survival (mPFS) compared with trastuzumab emtansine (28.8 vs 6.8 months, respectively; P< 0.0001) in previously treated (prior trastuzumab and taxane) patients with HER2+ mBC. In DESTINY-Breast04, T-DXd significantly improved mPFS vs physician’s choice of CTx (9.9 vs 5.1 months, respectively; P< 0.001) in all randomized patients with HER2-low mBC who were previously treated with one or two lines of CTx. Alongside these efficacy benefits, T-DXd has demonstrated an acceptable and generally manageable safety profile. To optimize care and maximize treatment benefit, insights into real-world T-DXd use and safety events of interest, including patient management and experience, are needed. This study aims to describe the effectiveness and tolerability of T-DXd in patients with HER2+ or HER2-low unresectable and/or mBC in a real-world setting. Trial design: DESTINY-Breast-RESPOND (NCT05592483) is a multicenter (120 sites planned as of June 2023), multi-country (HER2+ cohort: several regions globally; HER2-low cohort: North America only), prospective, observational study characterizing real-world clinical use, effectiveness, tolerability, and patient experience among adults who initiated T-DXd monotherapy, per standard of care, for HER2+ (second line or earlier) and HER2-low unresectable and/or mBC (T-DXd not provided by study sponsor). The decision to initiate T-DXd will be made by the physician prior to, and independent from, participation in this study. Approximately 750 patients with HER2+ and 250 patients with HER2-low disease will be enrolled. Patients must have received prior treatment with a trastuzumab-containing regimen in the metastatic setting or have evidence of disease progression within 6 months of neoadjuvant or adjuvant treatment (HER2+ cohort), or prior CTx in the metastatic setting or have evidence of disease progression within 6 months of adjuvant CTx (HER2-low cohort). Data will be collected via chart abstraction, patient-reported outcome questionnaires on tolerability and safety (PGI-TT, NCI PRO-CTCAE, and EORTC IL19), and a daily patient nausea/vomiting symptom diary. Endpoints will be analyzed separately for HER2+ and HER2-low cohorts. The primary endpoint of interest is time to next treatment from T-DXd initiation, a measure of real-world effectiveness. Other important endpoints include treatment patterns, safety events of interest (nausea/vomiting, fatigue, alopecia, interstitial lung disease/pneumonitis, left ventricular ejection fraction decrease) and their management, time to T-DXd discontinuation, and patient-reported tolerability. Patients will be observed until end of study (~60% of patients receive subsequent treatment or have died), withdrawal from study, or loss to follow up, whichever occurs first. Citation Format: Joyce O'Shaughnessy, Reva Basho, Maryam Lustberg, Gary H Lyman, Manoj Prahladan, Gareth D. James, Della Varghese, Flavia Lujan, Hans Tesch. A multicenter, prospective, observational study of patients receiving trastuzumab deruxtecan for the treatment of HER2-positive and HER2-low unresectable and/or metastatic breast cancer: DESTINY-Breast-RESPOND [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 2023 San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium; 2023 Dec 5-9; San Antonio, TX. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2024;84(9 Suppl):Abstract nr PO4-17-02.

Validity of Routine Health Data To Identify Safety Outcomes of Interest For Covid-19 Vaccines and Therapeutics in the Context of the Emerging Pandemic: A Comprehensive Literature Review.

Regulatory guidance encourages transparent reporting of information on the quality and validity of electronic health record data being used to generate real-world benefit-risk evidence for vaccines and therapeutics. We aimed to provide an overview of the availability of validated diagnostic algorithms for selected safety endpoints for Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccines and therapeutics in the context of the emerging pandemic prior to December 2020. We reviewed the literature up to December 2020 to identify validation studies for various safety events of interest, including myocardial infarction, arrhythmia, myocarditis, acute cardiac injury, vasculitis/vasculopathy, venous thromboembolism, stroke, respiratory distress syndrome (RDS), pneumonitis, cytokine release syndrome (CRS), multiple organ dysfunction syndrome, and renal failure. We included studies published between 2015 and 2020 that were considered high quality assessed with QUADAS and that reported positive predictive values (PPVs). Out of 43 identified studies, we found that diagnostic algorithms for cardiovascular outcomes were supported by the highest number of validation studies (n=17). Accurate algorithms are available for myocardial infarction (median PPV 80%; IQR 22%), arrhythmia (PPV range >70%), venous thromboembolism (median PPV: 73%) and ischaemic stroke (PPV range ≥85%). We found a lack of validation studies for less common respiratory and cardiac safety outcomes of interest (eg, pneumonitis and myocarditis), as well as for COVID-specific complications (CRS, RDS). There is a need for better understanding of barriers to conducting validation studies, including data governance restrictions. Regulatory guidance should promote embedding validation within real-world EHR research used for decision-making.

A Real-World Evidence Review of Post-Marketing Safety and Compliance with Pegcetacoplan in Patients with Paroxysmal Nocturnal Hemoglobinuria (PNH) in the US

Introduction: Paroxysmal nocturnal hemoglobinuria (PNH) is a rare, acquired hematologic condition characterized by complement-mediated, life-threatening hemolysis and thrombosis which are associated with significant impacts on health-related quality of life (HRQoL). Pegcetacoplan is the first targeted complement component 3 (C3) therapy approved for adults with PNH (US) and adults with PNH plus anemia despite receiving a complement component 5 inhibitor (C5i) for ≥3 months (EU). In clinical trials including patients with PNH who were C5i-experienced or -naive, pegcetacoplan significantly improved levels of hemoglobin (Hb) and lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) and reduced transfusion burden. Pegcetacoplan had a favorable safety profile in parent studies and an ongoing long-term, rollover, open-label extension study (NCT03531255). Compliance with pegcetacoplan treatment was high across all clinical studies. In the US real-world OPERA and Adelphi PNH Disease Specific Programme™ (DSP) patient-reported outcomes (PRO) studies, improvements in levels of Hb and LDH, along with self-reported fatigue and cognitive outcomes, were observed. Pegcetacoplan treatment also led to reductions in the frequency and severity of PNH symptoms (including shortness of breath and fatigue) and improvements in social, physical, and emotional HRQoL domains in the US real-world Voice of the Patient PRO study. Further, both patient and physician satisfaction with pegcetacoplan treatment was high in the Adelphi PNH DSP study. However, to date, compliance and safety with pegcetacoplan treatment in the real-world setting have not been described. The objective of this real-world evidence review study was to evaluate compliance and safety with pegcetacoplan treatment in patients with PNH in the US post-marketing setting. Methods: Post-marketing data from the US, including the number of patients who received pegcetacoplan and reported safety events, were collected and analyzed from the pegcetacoplan Risk Evaluation and Mitigation Strategies (REMS) program which controls the distribution of pegcetacoplan and the pharmacovigilance safety database through May 13, 2023. Treatment compliance was calculated as the proportion of days a patient had the drug in possession, divided by the total number of days of follow-up, using central pharmacy prescription refill data. Thrombosis (a leading cause of death in patients with PNH prior to the availability of complement inhibitors) and meningococcal infections (a potential risk with complement inhibitors) were safety events of interest. To reduce the risk of serious meningococcal infections, clinical trial protocols and pegcetacoplan labeling required vaccination against Streptococcus pneumoniae; N meningitidis types A, C, W, Y, and B; and Haemophilus influenzae type B before starting treatment with pegcetacoplan. If pegcetacoplan treatment must be initiated before vaccination, the US label mandates prophylactic antibiotic use. In this study, the rates of thrombosis and meningococcal infection per 100 patient-years were estimated based on the total number of thrombosis and meningococcal infection events reported in the REMS program. Results: As of May 13, 2023, the cumulative pegcetacoplan exposure was 273.10 patient-years in the US post-marketing setting. Based on prescription refill data, compliance with pegcetacoplan treatment was ~98%. There were 2 confirmed thrombotic events reported and the incidence of thrombotic events was 0.73 events/100 patient-years in 273.10 patient-years. Similar to clinical trials, no meningococcal infections were reported in the US post-marketing setting. Conclusions: The high compliance rate and favorable safety profile of pegcetacoplan in the US post-marketing setting were consistent with clinical trial observations. These data, coupled with the effectiveness on hematologic parameters and improvements in symptoms and HRQoL reported in pegcetacoplan real-world PRO studies, support a positive benefit:risk profile for pegcetacoplan in the real-world setting.

Health Care Resource Utilization and Total Costs of Care Among Patients with Diffuse Large B Cell Lymphoma Treated with Chimeric Antigen Receptor T Cell Therapy in the United States

The use of chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell therapy after a second relapse of diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) has shown favorable efficacy in clinical trials; however, little is known about health care resource utilization (HCRU) and costs of CAR T cell therapy for patients treated in real-world settings. We assessed treatment patterns, HCRU, costs, and safety in patients receiving CAR T cell therapy for relapsed or refractory DLBCL across 3 US commercial claims databases. Adults with DLBCL treated with CAR T cell therapy were identified in the following 3 claims databases: Optum® Clinformatics® Data Mart, IBM MarketScan® Commercial & Medicare Database, and IQVIA PharMetrics® Plus. Mean total costs were calculated and adjusted to 2019 US dollars. HCRU and costs within 3 months of infusion were stratified by safety events of interest, including neurological events (NEs) and cytokine release syndrome (CRS), identified via unvalidated algorithms designed based on expert medical opinion. A total of 191 patients receiving CAR T cell therapy were identified across the databases; their median age ranged from 56 to 67 years, and 63% to 75% were male. Most patients (88% to 98%) received CAR T cell infusions in the inpatient setting; 30% to 75% received bridging therapy. CRS was reported in 75% to 84% of patients (severe CRS, 15% to 32%), and NEs were reported in 58% to 69% (severe NEs, 25% to 43%). Mean total inpatient hospital days ranged from 17 to 22 days and increased with severe CRS (19 to 27 days) or severe NEs (22 to 29 days). Mean total health care expenditures ranged from $380,000 to $526,000 and were generally higher with severe CRS or NEs (∼$406,000 to $679,000). HCRU and costs associated with CAR T cell therapy may vary in the real world depending on several factors, including occurrence and severity of adverse events.

Large-Scale Postmarketing Surveillance of Biological Drugs for Immune-Mediated Inflammatory Diseases Through an Italian Distributed Multi-Database Healthcare Network: The VALORE Project.

BackgroundBiological drugs have improved the management of immune-mediated inflammatory diseases (IMIDs) despite being associated with important safety issues such as immunogenicity, infections, and malignancies in real-world settings.ObjectiveThe aim of this study was to explore the potential of a large Italian multi-database distributed network for use in the postmarketing surveillance of biological drugs, including biosimilars, in patients with IMID.MethodsA retrospective cohort study was conducted using 13 Italian regional claims databases during 2010–2019. A tailor-made R-based tool developed for distributed analysis of claims data using a study-specific common data model was customized for this study. We measured the yearly prevalence of biological drug users and the frequency of switches between originator and biosimilars for infliximab, etanercept, and adalimumab separately and stratified them by calendar year and region. We then calculated the cumulative number of users and person-years (PYs) of exposure to individual biological drugs approved for IMIDs. For a number of safety outcomes (e.g., severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 [SARS-COV-2] infection), we conducted a sample power calculation to estimate the PYs of exposure required to investigate their association with individual biological drugs approved for IMIDs, considering different strengths of association.ResultsFrom a total underlying population of almost 50 million inhabitants from 13 Italian regions, we identified 143,602 (0.3%) biological drug users, with a cumulative exposure of 507,745 PYs during the entire follow-up. The mean age ± standard deviation of biological drug users was 49.3 ± 16.3, with a female-to-male ratio of 1.2. The age-adjusted yearly prevalence of biological drug users increased threefold from 0.7 per 1000 in 2010 to 2.1 per 1000 in 2019. Overall, we identified 40,996 users of biosimilars of tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α inhibitors (i.e., etanercept, adalimumab, and infliximab) in the years 2015–2019. Of these, 46% (N = 18,845) switched at any time between originator and biosimilars or vice versa. To investigate a moderate association (incidence rate ratio 2) between biological drugs approved for IMIDs and safety events of interest, such as optic neuritis (lowest background incidence rate 10.4/100,000 PYs) or severe infection (highest background incidence rate 4312/100,000 PYs), a total of 43,311 PYs and 104 PYs of exposure to individual biological drugs, respectively, would be required. As such, using this network, of 15 individual biological drugs approved for IMIDs, the association with those adverse events could be investigated for four (27%) and 14 (93%), respectively.ConclusionThe VALORE project multi-database network has access to data on more than 140,000 biological drug users (and > 0.5 million PYs) from 13 Italian regions during the years 2010–2019, which will be further expanded with the inclusion of data from other regions and more recent calendar years. Overall, the cumulated amount of person-time of exposure to biological drugs approved for IMIDs provides enough statistical power to investigate weak/moderate associations of almost all individual compounds and the most relevant safety outcomes. Moreover, this network may offer the opportunity to investigate the interchangeability of originator and biosimilars of several TNFα inhibitors in different therapeutic areas in real-world settings.Supplementary InformationThe online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s40259-021-00498-3.

PCV2 - Direct-To-Patient Contact and Proactive Pharmacovigilance System: A Case Study

Post-authorization non-interventional safety studies typically enroll patients at sites and safety events are reported and collected as appropriate by site personnel during standard-of-care visits. Although this is the traditional approach, it has several practical shortcomings: infrequent or irregular standard-of-care visits; patients switching health care providers; transient nature of some safety events; treatment at non-study sites, and the lack of care-seeking for the safety events. An alternative study design that overcomes several of these shortcomings includes direct-to-patient contact (DPC) and follow-up. The purpose of this study is to describe patients’ short and long term management patterns including the detection and verification of events of interest by contacting patients’ event treating physician (ETP). This is multinational multicenter observational prospective longitudinal cohort study involving 10,600 patients in Europe and South America. Patients were enrolled at hospital and followed up by telephone by a specialized DPC unit at 6 weeks then quarterly up to 2 years after hospital discharge. Data collected include clinical outcomes, safety events of interest, economic burden and quality of life. A total of 88,276 phone calls to patients were performed, achieving a reachable rate of 88.5% and an interview successful rate of 84.6%. 87.2% of the initial sample completed the 2-year follow-up period: 5.7% of the sample died, 6.0% voluntarily withdrew and 0.9% was withdrawn to participate to a clinical trial. Only 19 patients were never reached (0.2%). In total, 2144 events of interest were detected and a medical verification from ETPs was obtained in 72.3% of the case. This study demonstrates that DPC along with a proactive pharmacovigilance system achieved very high response rates from both patients and ETPs. It represents an effective alternative methodology to collect patients data, including safety data, in real life settings.

Clopidogrel for Atherothrombotic Event Management in Patients with Peripheral Arterial Disease (COOPER) Study: Safety and Efficacy of Clopidogrel versus Ticlopidine in Japanese Patients.

Peripheral arterial disease (PAD) has been recognized as an independent risk factor for vascular events and contributes to an adverse prognosis. Long-term administration of clopidogrel is recommended to prevent atherothrombotic events for patients with established PAD. We investigated the benefits of clopidogrel treatment in Japanese patients with PAD. COOPER (Clopidogrel for atherOthrombOtic event management in patients with PERipheral arterial disease) was a multicenter, randomized, double-blind study to evaluate the safety and efficacy of clopidogrel (75 mg/day) compared to ticlopidine (200 mg/day) in Japanese patients with PAD. The primary endpoint was the cumulative incidence of "safety events of interest" comprising clinically significant bleeding, blood disorders, hepatic dysfunction and other serious adverse events up to 12 weeks. The other safety events and vascular events were also assessed. Patients were followed up to 52 weeks. A total of 431 patients with PAD were randomly assigned to receive either clopidogrel or ticlopidine. The cumulative incidences of "safety events of interest" at 12 weeks were 2.4% and 13.6% of patients who received clopidogrel and ticlopidine, respectively (adjusted hazard ratio, 0.161; 95% confidence interval, 0.062 to 0.416; p <0.0001). Bleeding and vascular events were similar in both groups. Clopidogrel demonstrated a favorable benefit/risk profile than ticlopidine in Japanese patients with PAD. ( ClinicalTrials.gov, Identifier: NCT00862420).