- Department of Health (DoH) of Hong Kong approved AGAMREE® for the treatment of Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) inpatients aged 4 years and older
- Follows recent approval from China's National Medical Products Administration (NMPA)
Pratteln, Switzerland, December 20, 2024 - Santhera Pharmaceuticals (SIX: SANN) announcesthat the Department of Health of Hong Kong, China, has approved AGAMREE® (vamorolone) for use in patients aged 4 years and older.
The approval by the DoH of Hong Kong constitutes the fifth independent approval by local health authorities after the US FDA, EMEA, MHRA and the NMPA and will allow patients with DMD in Hong Kong access to AGAMREE in the near future.
According to the license agreement between the companies first announced in January 2022, Sperogenix holds exclusive rights for the development and commercialization of AGAMREE for DMD and other rare disease indications in Greater China. This agreement was amended in March 2023 to include the option for several additional Southeast Asian countries, namely Brunei, Cambodia, Timor-Leste (East Timor), Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar (Burma), the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam in exchange for a USD 4 million payment by Sperogenix. Sperogenix exercised this option in July 2024 to include these territories in their license agreement. Santhera is supplying AGAMREE to Sperogenix for both the ongoing Early Access Program (EAP) and for commercialization. Sperogenix will pay Santhera royalties at a double-digit percentage on net product sales, along with additional revenue-dependent milestones based on commercial sales.
About AGAMREE® (vamorolone)
AGAMREE is a novel drug with a mode of action based on binding to the same receptor as glucocorticoids but modifying its downstream activity. Moreover, it is not a substrate for the 11-ß-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase (11ß-HSD) enzymes that may be responsible for local drug amplification and corticosteroid-associated toxicity in local tissues [1-4]. This mechanism has shown the potential to 'dissociate' efficacy from steroid safety concerns and therefore AGAMREE is positioned as a dissociative anti-inflammatory drug and an alternative to existing corticosteroids, the current standard of care in children and adolescent patients with DMD [1-4].
In the pivotal VISION-DMD study, AGAMREE met the primary endpoint Time to Stand (TTSTAND) velocity versus placebo (p=0.002) at 24 weeks of treatment and showed a good safety and tolerability profile [1, 4]. The most commonly reported side effects were cushingoid features, vomiting, weight increase and irritability. Side effects were generally of mild to moderate severity.
Currently available data show that AGAMREE, unlike corticosteroids, has no restriction of growth [5] and no negative effects on bone metabolism as demonstrated by normal bone formation and bone resorption serum markers [6].
References:
[1] Dang UJ et al..
[2] Guglieri M et al.
[3] Liu X et al.
[6] Hasham et al., MDA 2022 Poster presentation. Link.
About Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy
Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) is a rare inherited X-chromosome-linked disease, which almost exclusively affects males. DMD is characterized by inflammation which is present at birth or shortly thereafter. Inflammation leads to fibrosis of muscle and is clinically manifested by progressive muscle degeneration and weakness. Major milestones in the disease are the loss of ambulation, the loss of self-feeding, the start of assisted ventilation, and the development of cardiomyopathy. DMD reduces life expectancy to before the fourth decade due to respiratory and/or cardiac failure. Corticosteroids are the current standard of care for the treatment of DMD.
About Santhera
Santhera Pharmaceuticals.
AGAMREE® is a trademark of Santhera Pharmaceuticals.
For further information please contact:
public-relations@santhera.comor
Andrew Smith, Chief Financial Officer
andrew.smith@santhera.com
About Sperogenix Therapeutics
Founded in 2019, Sperogenix Therapeutics is a platform company dedicated to developing and commercializing genetic disease and rare disease therapeutics in China. With prioritized therapeutic areas such as neuromuscular diseases and inherited metabolic diseases, Sperogenix is dedicated to establishing an innovative commercial model tailored to the China rare disease field, in order to provide affordable and reliable products and services to Chinese physicians and patients. In 2022, Sperogenix Therapeutics obtained the exclusive development and commercialization rights from Santhera Pharmaceuticals for AGAMREE® in DMD and all other rare diseases in the Greater China region.
Disclaimer / Forward-looking statements
This communication does not constitute an offer or invitation to subscribe for or purchase any securities of Santhera Pharmaceuticals Holding AG. This publication may contain certain forward-looking statements concerning the Company and its business. Such statements involve certain risks, uncertainties and other factors which could cause the actual results, financial condition, performance or achievements of the Company to be materially different from those expressed or implied by such statements. Readers should therefore not place undue reliance on these statements, particularly not in connection with any contract or investment decision. The Company disclaims any obligation to update these forward-looking statements.
# # #
Attachment
- 241220 Updated Sperogenix Approval Hong Kong_FINAL_e_1519pm (https://ml-eu.globenewswire.com/Resource/Download/f411e7ea-3eb1-4f97-9ae2-699ed3713a50)
