BAGNEUX, France, April 9, 2015 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — DBV Technologies Receives FDA Breakthrough Therapy Designation for Viaskin Peanut for the Treatment of Peanut Allergy in Children
DBV Technologies is the first company to announce Breakthrough Therapy Designation from FDA in food allergy
Breakthrough Therapy Designation was granted following positive Phase IIb trial results emphasizing the need to provide a safe pharmaceutical treatment for patients suffering from life threatening food allergies
DBV Technologies, (Euronext: DBV – ISIN: FR0010417345 – Nasdaq Stock Market: DBVT), a clinical-stage specialty biopharmaceutical company, announced today that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has granted Breakthrough Therapy Designation to Viaskin® Peanut for children.
Breakthrough Therapy Designation is intended to expedite the development and review of drugs/biological products for serious or life-threatening diseases or conditions, such as peanut allergy. Currently, DBV is actively preparing the launch of its Phase III trial of Viaskin Peanut in Children, suffering from peanut allergy, in close coordination with the US FDA.
The FDA granted this Breakthrough Therapy Designation after DBV reported positive Phase IIb results with Viaskin Peanut. The Viaskin® Peanut Efficacy and Safety trial, or VIPES, is a Phase IIb study demonstrating that Viaskin Peanut 250 microgrammes improved the peanut allergy disease in children, as measured by a clinically significant endpoint. Available safety data from past and ongoing studies with Viaskin Peanut demonstrate an excellent safety profile in all age groups.
Dr. Pierre-Henri Benhamou, M.D., Chairman and CEO of DBV Technologies said: “We are truly honored to be the first company to receive this FDA designation in food allergies. This is an historical event for the peanut allergy patients, caretakers and clinicians that have long awaited for a treatment for this severe disease.” Dr. Benhamou continued, “In addition to the Fast Track designation already granted in December 2011, we are thankful for the FDA’s decision to acknowledge the clinical relevance and importance of Viaskin Peanut. This Breakthrough designation highlights the urgent need to find a treatment for this life-threatening disease, and we are committed to bringing Viaskin Peanut to the market as quickly as possible.”
About Viaskin® Peanut
DBV is developing the Viaskin® technology platform, which delivers biologically active compounds, including allergens, via intact skin. Viaskin® is an electrostatic patch, based on Epicutaneous Immunotherapy, or EPIT®, which administers an allergen directly onto the superficial layers of the skin to activate the immune system by specifically targeting antigen-presenting cells without allowing passage of the antigen into the bloodstream.
Viaskin® Peanut is currently being investigated in clinical trials for treatment of peanut allergy.
About the VIPES Clinical Trial
VIPES is a completed Phase IIb, double-blind placebo-controlled safety and efficacy study of Viaskin Peanut at 3 dose-levels (50 microgrammes, 100 microgrammes, 250 microgrammes peanut protein) versus placebo for 12 months in an adult and pediatric populations of 221 subjects aged 6-55 years in 2 age strata (113 children aged 6-11 years, 108 adolescents and adults). A treatment responder was defined as a subject with a peanut protein eliciting dose equal to or greater than 1,000 mg peanut protein based on the results of the double blind, placebo controlled peanut challenge after 12 months of treatment or a subject with a greater than or equal to 10-fold increase of the eliciting dose at 12 months, compared to the initial eliciting dose. The trial met its primary efficacy endpoint at the highest explored dose (Viaskin Peanut 250 microgrammes), which showed a higher proportion of responding patients (50.0%) versus placebo (25.0%) after 12 months of Epicutaneous Immunotherapy (EPIT); this difference reached statistical significance (p=0.0108). Overall, Viaskin Peanut 250 microgrammes showed better results than Viaskin Peanut 100 microgrammes or 50 microgrammes.
About Breakthrough Therapy Designation
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