EC approves Roche’s bispecific antibody Lunsumio

Roche today announced that the European Commission has granted conditional marketing authorisation for the CD20xCD3 T-cell engaging bispecific antibody Lunsumio® (mosunetuzumab), for the treatment of adult patients with relapsed or refractory (R/R) follicular lymphoma (FL) who have received at least two prior systemic therapies. Lunsumio is an off-the-shelf therapy that is readily available, so people do not have to wait to start treatment.

• Lunsumio® (mosunetuzumab) is the first CD20xCD3 T-cell engaging bispecific antibody available to treat the most common slow-growing form of non-Hodgkin lymphoma, follicular lymphoma (FL)
• Lunsumio represents a new type of immunotherapy that is a chemotherapy-free, off-the-shelf, fixed-duration treatment option that could improve outcomes for people who have relapsed or are refractory to multiple previous treatments
• Approval is based on the phase I/II GO29781 study, where Lunsumio induced high complete response rates, with the majority of complete responses lasting for at least 18 months in people with heavily pre-treated FL

Each year, more than 28,000 people in Europe are diagnosed with FL, which accounts for approximately one in five non-Hodgkin lymphoma cases. Despite treatment advances, FL is considered an incurable disease and relapse is common, with outcomes worsening on each consecutive treatment.

“We are delighted that Lunsumio is the first bispecific antibody approved in Europe for people with relapsed or refractory follicular lymphoma,” said Levi Garraway, M.D., Ph.D., Roche’s Chief Medical Officer and Head of Global Product Development. “Lunsumio’s high response rates, off-the-shelf availability, and initial outpatient administration could transform how advanced follicular lymphoma is treated.”

“Having additional treatment options for people with follicular lymphoma, where multiple prior lines of therapy have failed, is critical to help them achieve better outcomes,” said Elizabeth Budde, M.D., Ph.D., Haematologic Oncologist and Associate Professor at City of Hope. “It is exciting to have a new class of immunotherapy like Lunsumio, offering a readily available, chemotherapy-free and fixed-duration treatment, with great potential to provide durable remissions without the need to stay on treatment continuously.”

The approval is based on positive results from the phase I/II GO29781 study where Lunsumio demonstrated high complete response rates, with the majority of complete responders maintaining responses for at least 18 months, and favourable tolerability in people with heavily pre-treated FL. After a median follow-up of 18.3 months, the median duration of response among responders was 22.8 months (95% CI: 9.7-not estimable), the complete response rate was 60% (n=54/90), the objective response rate was 80% (n=72/90). The most common adverse event was cytokine release syndrome (39%), which was generally low grade (grade 2: 14%), and resolved by the end of treatment. Other common (≥20%) AEs were neutropenia, pyrexia, hypophosphatemia and headache. The initial dose was administered without mandatory hospitalisation. Results were presented for the first time in December 2021 at the 63rd American Society of Hematology Annual Meeting & Exposition.

Conditional approval is granted to a medicinal product that fulfils an unmet medical need where the benefit of immediate availability outweighs the risk of less comprehensive data than normally required.

A robust development programme for Lunsumio is ongoing including two phase III studies: CELESTIMO, investigating Lunsumio plus lenalidomide in second line plus (2L+) FL, and SUNMO, investigating Lunsumio plus Polivy® (polatuzumab vedotin) in 2L+ diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL).

This is Roche’s second EU approval in lymphoma in 2022, following the approval of Polivy in combination with MabThera® (rituximab) plus cyclophosphamide, doxorubicin and prednisone (R-CHP) in previously untreated DLBCL. With a broad portfolio and pipeline, Roche is committed to providing treatment solutions for different stages of blood disorders, that are tailored to the disease, patient, physician, and healthcare system, as monotherapies or in combination with established and/or novel agents.
MB Bureau