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Catalent Pharma Solutions today welcomed the approval of Verastem Oncology’s COPIKTRA™ (duvelisib) capsules by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

Somerset, N.J. – October 16, 2018 — Catalent Pharma Solutions, the leading global provider of advanced delivery technologies and development solutions for drugs, biologics and consumer health products, today welcomed the approval of Verastem Oncology’s COPIKTRA™ (duvelisib) capsules by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). COPIKTRA is an oral inhibitor of phosphoinositide 3-kinase (PI3K), and the first approved dual inhibitor of PI3K-delta and PI3K-gamma, for the treatment of adult patients with relapsed or refractory chronic lymphocytic leukemia/small lymphocytic lymphoma (CLL/SLL) after at least two prior therapies.

COPIKTRA also received accelerated approval for the treatment of adult patients with relapsed or refractory follicular lymphoma (FL) after at least two prior systemic therapies. The indication in FL is approved under accelerated approval based on overall response rate. Continued approval for this indication may be contingent upon verification and description of clinical benefit in confirmatory trials.

Catalent has had a multi-year collaboration with Verastem Oncology, initially providing development and analytical support, and later clinical development and manufacturing services from its facility at Kansas City, Missouri.

“We are proud to partner with Verastem as part of the team delivering COPIKTRA capsules to patients. Catalent’s Kansas City facility is focused on oral and biologic programs, primarily with smaller pharmaceutical firms, to deliver products to patients with poorly met or unmet disease states,” commented Matt Mollan, Catalent’s General Manager at Kansas City. “Like Verastem, Catalent is committed to advancing therapies with the potential to make a significant impact for patients, their caregivers and physicians. We look forward to building on this strong relationship through supplying clinical trial materials as well as commercial manufacturing and testing.”

 Robert Forrester, President and Chief Executive Officer of Verastem Oncology, added, “We selected Catalent as our development partner because of their experience and record of bringing similar therapies through clinical trials and on to successful commercialization. We are pleased to partner with Catalent in order to deliver this important new medicine to patients.”

Catalent’s 450,000 square-feet Kansas City, Missouri facility provides a range of fully integrated support services, from formulation development and analytical testing, to clinical- and commercial-scale manufacturing and packaging of various oral dose forms.

Use of COPIKTRA is associated with a BOXED WARNING for four fatal and/or serious toxicities: infections, diarrhea or colitis, cutaneous reactions, and pneumonitis. Verastem Oncology is implementing an informational Risk Evaluation and Mitigation Strategy to provide appropriate dosing and safety information to better support physicians in managing their patients on COPIKTRA.

Additionally, use of COPIKTRA is also associated with adverse reactions which may require dose reduction, treatment delay or discontinuation of COPIKTRA. WARNINGS AND PRECAUTIONS are provided for infections, diarrhea or colitis, cutaneous reactions, pneumonitis, hepatotoxicity, neutropenia, and embryo-fetal toxicity. The most common ADVERSE REACTIONS (reported in ≥ 20% of patients) were diarrhea or colitis, neutropenia, rash, fatigue, pyrexia, cough, nausea, upper respiratory infection, pneumonia, musculoskeletal pain, and anemia.

Please see important Safety Information provided below and Prescribing Information including BOXED WARNING and Medication Guide at www.COPIKTRAHCP.com/prescribinginformation

Media Contacts: 

Chris Halling
+44 (0)7580 041073
chris.halling@catalent.com

Richard Kerns
+44 (0) 161 728 5880
richard@nepr.eu

About COPIKTRA™ (duvelisib)

COPIKTRA is an oral inhibitor of phosphoinositide 3-kinase (PI3K), and the first approved dual inhibitor of PI3K-delta and PI3K-gamma, two enzymes known to help support the growth and survival of malignant B-cells. PI3K signaling may lead to the proliferation of malignant B-cells and is thought to play a role in the formation and maintenance of the supportive tumor microenvironment.1,2,3 COPIKTRA is indicated for the treatment of adult patients with relapsed or refractory chronic lymphocytic leukemia/small lymphocytic lymphoma (CLL/SLL) after at least two prior therapies and relapsed or refractory follicular lymphoma (FL) after at least two prior systemic therapies. COPIKTRA is also being developed by Verastem Oncology for the treatment of peripheral T-cell lymphoma (PTCL), for which it has received Fast Track status, and is being investigated in combination with other agents through investigator-sponsored studies.4 For more information on COPIKTRA, please visit www.COPIKTRA.com.  Information about duvelisib clinical trials can be found on www.clinicaltrials.gov.

About Catalent 

Catalent is the leading global provider of advanced delivery technologies and development solutions for drugs, biologics and consumer health products. With 85 years serving the industry, Catalent has proven expertise in bringing more customer products to market faster, enhancing product performance and ensuring reliable clinical and commercial product supply. Catalent employs over 11,000 people, including over 1,800 scientists, at more than 30 facilities across five continents, and in fiscal 2018 generated approximately $2.5 billion in annual revenue. Catalent is headquartered in Somerset, New Jersey. For more information, visit www.catalent.com.

More products. Better treatments. Reliably supplied.™

1 Winkler D.G., Faia K.L., DiNitto J.P. et al. PI3K-delta and PI3K-gamma inhibition by IPI-145 abrogates immune responses and suppresses activity in autoimmune and inflammatory disease models. Chem Biol 2013; 20:1-11.
2 Reif K et al. Cutting Edge: Differential Roles for Phosphoinositide
3 kinases, p110-gamma and p110-delta, in lymphocyte chemotaxis and homing. J Immunol 2004:173:2236-2240.3 Schmid M et al. Receptor Tyrosine Kinases and TLR/IL1Rs Unexpectedly activate myeloid cell PI3K, a single convergent point promoting tumor inflammation and progression. Cancer Cell 2011;19:715-727.
4 www.clinicaltrials.gov, NCT03372057.