Clinical Pharmacology for Nemluvio
Mechanism Of Action
Nemolizumab-ilto is a humanized IgG2 monoclonal antibody that inhibits IL-31 signaling by binding selectively to IL-31 RA. IL-31 is a naturally occurring cytokine that is involved in pruritus, inflammation, epidermal dysregulation, and fibrosis. Nemolizumab-ilto inhibited IL-31-induced responses including the release of proinflammatory cytokines and chemokines.
Pharmacokinetics
After a single dose, nemolizumab-ilto exposure increased dose proportionally over a dose range of 0.03 and 3 mg/kg following subcutaneous administration. After multiple doses, nemolizumab-ilto systemic exposure increased in an approximately dose-proportional manner across the subcutaneous dose range up to 30 mg. There was a decrease in bioavailability by 9% with the 60 mg subcutaneous dose and by 15% with the 90 mg subcutaneous dose.
Following multiple doses of NEMLUVIO in subjects with prurigo nodularis, the estimated mean (SD) steadystate trough concentrations of nemolizumab-ilto were 3.04 (1.23) μg/mL in subjects with bodyweight less than 90 kg; and 3.66 (1.63) μg/mL in subjects with bodyweight of 90 kg or more. Steady state nemolizumab-ilto concentrations were achieved by week 4 in subjects weighting less than 90 kg and by week 12 in subjects weighing 90 kg or more.
Absorption
Following an initial subcutaneous dose of 60 mg, nemolizumab-ilto reached peak mean (SD) concentrations (Cmax) of 7.5 (2.31) μg/mL by approximately 6 days post dose.
Distribution
The volume of distribution of nemolizumab-ilto was estimated to be 7.67 L.
Elimination
Nemolizumab-ilto is expected to be degraded in the same manner as endogenous IgG. The terminal elimination half-life (SD) of nemolizumab-ilto was estimated to be 18.9 (4.96) days and systemic clearance was estimated to be 0.263 L/day.
Metabolism
The metabolic pathway of nemolizumab-ilto has not been characterized. Nemolizumab-ilto is expected to be degraded into small peptides by catabolic pathways.
Specific Populations
Geriatric Populations
No clinically significant difference in the pharmacokinetics of nemolizumab-ilto was estimated based on age (subjects 18 to 65 years of age and older than 65 years of age). Dose adjustment in this population is not needed.
Renal Or Hepatic Impairment
No clinically significant differences in the pharmacokinetics of nemolizumab-ilto were estimated based on mild to moderate renal or hepatic impairments. The effect of severe renal and severe hepatic impairments on the pharmacokinetics of nemolizumab-ilto is unknown.
Body Weight
The exposure of nemolizumab-ilto decreases with increasing body weight. After a 30-mg dose every 4 weeks, the steady state mean exposure parameters (AUCss, Cmaxss and Ctrough) of subjects with bodyweight of above 87 kg is expected to be 1.7-fold lower than that of subjects weighing below 62 kg.
The variability in systemic exposure due to body weight had a clinically meaningful impact on skin lesion efficacy (IGA response) but not on pruritus improvement.
Drug Interaction Studies
The effects of nemolizumab-ilto on the pharmacokinetics of midazolam (CYP3A4/5 substrate), warfarin (CYP2C9 substrate), omeprazole (CYP2C19 substrate), metoprolol (CYP2D6 substrate), and caffeine (CYP1A2 substrate) were evaluated in a study in 14 subjects with moderate to severe atopic dermatitis receiving an initial subcutaneous dose of 60 mg followed by a 30 mg subcutaneous dose every 4 weeks for 12 weeks. No clinically significant changes in the exposure of CYP450 substrates before and after multiple nemolizumab-ilto injections were observed, with Cmax and AUC ratios ranging from 88.24 to 107.81%.
The concomitant use of nemolizumab-ilto is unlikely to influence the PK profiles of CYP substrates.
Immunogenicity
The observed incidence of anti-drug antibodies is highly dependent on the sensitivity and specificity of the assay. Differences in assay methods preclude meaningful comparisons of the incidence of anti-drug antibodies in the studies described below with the incidence of anti-drug antibodies in other studies, including those of nemolizumab-ilto or other nemolizumab products.
In the Phase 3 trials (OLYMPIA 1, OLYMPIA 2) up to 24 weeks, the incidence of treatment-emergent ADAs was 7%; neutralizing antibodies were seen in 3 % of subjects.
There was no identified clinically significant effect of anti-drug antibodies on the pharmacokinetics, safety or efficacy of nemolizumab-ilto over the treatment duration of 24 weeks.
Clinical Studies
Two randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trials (OLYMPIA 1 [NCT04501666] and OLYMPIA 2 [NCT04501679]) enrolled a total of 560 adult subjects with prurigo nodularis (PN). Disease severity was defined using an Investigator’s Global Assessment (IGA) in the overall assessment of prurigo nodularis nodules on a severity scale of 0 to 4. Subjects enrolled in these two trials had an IGA score ≥ 3, severe pruritus as defined by a weekly average of the peak pruritus numeric rating scale (PP-NRS) score of ≥7 on a scale of 0 to 10, and greater than or equal to 20 nodular lesions. OLYMPIA 1 and OLYMPIA 2 assessed the effect of NEMLUVIO on the signs and symptoms of PN, targeting improvement in skin lesions and pruritus over 16 weeks. In OLYMPIA 1, subjects were extended up to 24 weeks of treatment.
Subjects weighing less than 90 kg in the NEMLUVIO group received subcutaneous injections of NEMLUVIO 60 mg at Week 0, followed by 30 mg injections every 4 weeks. Subjects weighing 90 kg or more in the NEMLUVIO group received subcutaneous injections of NEMLUVIO 60 mg at Week 0 and every 4 weeks.
In these trials, at baseline, 60% of subjects were female, 81% were White, 9% were Asian, 7% were Black or African American; for ethnicity, 4% of subjects identified as Hispanic or Latino. Twenty five (25)% of subjects were older than 65 years of age. Thirty-two (32)% of subjects had a history of atopy. The baseline weekly average PP-NRS score was a mean of 8.5. Fifty-eight (58)% of subjects had a baseline IGA score of 3 (moderate PN), and 42% of subjects had a baseline IGA of 4 (severe PN).
The PP-NRS score is a weekly average of daily PP-NRS scores on an 11-point scale from 0-10 that assesses the maximal intensity of pruritus in the last 24 hours with 0 being no itch and 10 being worst itch imaginable. The IGA is a 5-category scale, including “0 = clear”, “1 = almost clear”, “2 = mild”, “3 = moderate” or “4 = severe” indicating the investigator’s overall assessment of the pruriginous nodules.
Efficacy was assessed with the proportion of subjects with an improvement of ≥4 from baseline in PP-NRS, the proportion of subjects with an IGA of 0 (Clear) or 1 (Almost Clear) and a ≥2-point improvement from baseline, the proportion of subjects who achieved a response in both PP-NRS and IGA per the criteria described above, and the proportion of subjects with PP-NRS <2.
The efficacy results for OLYMPIA 1 and OLYMPIA 2 are presented in Table 2 and Figures 1, 2, and 3.
Table 2: Efficacy Results at Week 16 in Adult Subjects with PN in OLYMPIA 1 and OLYMPIA 2
|
OLYMPIA 1 |
OLYMPIA 2 |
NEMLUVIO
(N=190) |
Placebo
(N=96) |
Difference from Placebo
(95% CI |
NEMLUVIO
(N=183) |
Placebo
(N=91) |
Difference from Placebo
(95% CI) |
| Proportion of subjects with both an improvement (reduction) of ≥4 from baseline in PP-NRS and IGA 0or 1a b |
22%a |
2%a |
15%
(8%,21%a |
25%a |
4%a |
22%
(14%,30%)a |
| Proportion of subjects with IGA 0 or 1b |
26% |
7% |
15%
(7%, 23%) |
38% |
11% |
29%
(19%, 38%) |
| Proportion of subjects with an improvement (reduction) of ≥4from baseline in PP-NRSb |
56% |
16% |
38%
(27%,48%) |
49% |
16% |
34%
(23%, 45%) |
| Proportion of subjects with PP-NRS <2b |
32% |
4% |
28%
(20%,36%) |
31% |
7% |
26%
(18%, 34%) |
a Not adjusted for multiplicity.
b Subjects who received rescue therapy or had missing data (fewer than 4 PP-NRS daily diary entries in a 7-day period) were considered non-responders |
Figure 1: Proportion of Adult Subjects with PN with PP-NRS Improvement ≥4 from Baseline Over Time in OLYMPIA 1 and OLYMPIA 2a
 |
| a Subjects who received rescue therapy or had missing data (fewer than 4 PP-NRS daily diary entries in a 7-day period) were considered non-responders. |
Figure 2: Proportion of Adult Subjects with PN with PP-NRS <2 Over Time in OLYMPIA 1 and OLYMPIA 2a
 |
| a Subjects who received rescue therapy or had missing data (fewer than 4 PP-NRS daily diary entries in a 7-day period) were considered non-responders. |
Figure 3: Proportion of Adult Subjects with PN with IGA Responsea Over Time in OLYMPIA 1 and OLYMPA 2b
 |
a Response was defined as an IGA of 0 (Clear) or 1 (Almost Clear) and a ≥2-point improvement from baseline.
b Subjects who received rescue therapy or had missing data were considered non-responders. |
Examination of weight, age, gender, race, history of atopy, and prior treatment did not identify meaningful differences in response to NEMLUVIO among these subgroups at Week 16.