The European Commission has granted conditional marketing authorization for TEPKINLY as a monotherapy for the treatment of adult patients with relapsed or refractory diffuse large B-cell lymphoma after two or more lines of systemic therapy.

TEPKINLY is the first and only subcutaneous T-cell engaging bispecific antibody approved for the treatment of this patient population in the European Union, as well as Liechtenstein, Norway and Iceland, describes the company.

“With TEPKINLY, people in Europe living with relapsed or refractory diffuse large B-cell lymphoma who are in need of additional treatment options now have a readily available, innovative therapeutic option for this aggressive cancer,” says Jan van de Winkel, Ph.D., Chief Executive Officer of Genmab. “Today’s approval underscores our commitment to bringing our bispecific antibody to more patients worldwide. We’re excited to continue working with our partner AbbVie to further explore epcoritamab as potential core therapy across B-cell malignancies.”

Supported by data from the EPCORE NHL-1 trial

This conditional approval is supported by data from the EPCORE NHL-1 phase 1/2 open-label, multi-cohort, multi-center, single-arm trial evaluating the preliminary efficacy and safety of TEPKINLY in patients with R/R large B-cell lymphoma (LBCL), including its subtype DLBCL. In this study, DLBCL patients treated with TEPKINLY (n=139) achieved an overall response rate of 62 percent (n=86) and a complete response rate of 39 percent (n=54), with a median duration of response of 15.5 months (range: 9.7, not reached).

Results from the trial showed that TEPKINLY demonstrated a manageable safety profile across the LBCL patient cohort (n=167), which included the DLBCL patient population. The most common adverse reactions (≥ 20 percent) were cytokine release syndrome, fatigue, neutropenia, injection site reaction, musculoskeletal pain, abdominal pain, pyrexia, nausea and diarrhea.

Co-developed by AbbVie and Genmab

Epcoritamab is being co-developed by AbbVie and Genmab as part of the companies’ oncology collaboration. The companies will share commercial responsibilities in the U.S. and Japan, with AbbVie responsible for further global commercialization. AbbVie will continue to pursue regulatory submissions for epcoritamab across international markets throughout the year.

Photo: Hybridoma & Tissue Culture Laboratory, Genmab. Credit: Tuala Hjarnø