Roche's ADC Combination Polivy Plus R-CHP Reduces Risk of Disease Progression or Death by 27% in First-Line DLBCL Treatment

On December 14, 2021, Genentech, a subsidiary of Roche, announced that Polivy (polatuzumab vedotin), a "first-in-class" antibody-drug conjugate (ADC) targeting CD79b, in combination with a regimen named R-CHP, demonstrated positive results in a Phase 3 clinical trial for the first-line treatment of patients with diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL). Compared with the current standard treatment R-CHOP, the combination of Polivy and R-CHP reduced the risk of disease progression or death by 27%. The press release noted that this is the first treatment regimen in over 20 years to significantly improve outcomes for such patients compared to the standard treatment. The data from this trial was simultaneously published in The New England Journal of Medicine.

DLBCL is the most common type of non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL), accounting for about one-third of NHL cases. DLBCL is an aggressive type of NHL, with approximately 150,000 people worldwide diagnosed with DLBCL each year. While first-line treatment is often effective, up to 40% of patients experience relapse or develop refractory disease, leaving them with limited treatment options, shorter survival times, and unmet medical needs.

CD79b Protein Specifically Expressed in Most B Cells, Making It a Promising Target for New Therapy Development. Polivy Specifically Binds to CD79b on Tumor Cells, Delivering Anti-Cancer Drugs to Kill These B Cells While Minimizing Harm to Normal Cells. Currently, Polivy Is Approved in Over 60 Countries and Regions Worldwide, Used in Combination with Bendamustine or Rituximab (Rituxan) to Treat Patients with Relapsed or Refractory (R/R) DLBCL.

This Phase III clinical trial evaluated the efficacy, safety, and pharmacokinetics of Polivy + rituximab + cyclophosphamide + doxorubicin + prednisone regimen compared with the standard treatment of rituximab + cyclophosphamide + doxorubicin + vincristine + prednisone (R-CHOP) in 879 previously untreated DLBCL patients.

Efficacy and safety data from the trial showed that, at a median follow-up of 28.2 months, Polivy + R-CHP significantly improved progression-free survival (PFS) compared to R-CHOP ([HR] 0.73; 95% [CI]: 0.57–0.95; p<0.02). As PFS is the goal of first-line treatment for DLBCL patients, this result is clinically significant. In terms of safety, the safety profile of Polivy + R-CHP was consistent with that of R-CHOP.

▲Polivy+R-CHP significantly improves patients' progression-free survival (Image source: Reference [2])

References:

[1] Roche’s Polivy Combination Reduced The Risk Of Disease Worsening Or Death By 27% In People With Previously Untreated Aggressive Form Of Lymphoma. Retrieved December 14, 2021, from https://www.roche.com/media/releases/med-cor-2021-12-14.htm

[2] Tilly et al., (2021). Polatuzumab Vedotin in Previously Untreated Diffuse Large B-Cell Lymphoma. NEJM, DOI: 10.1056/NEJMoa2115304

(Original text has been abridged)

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