Luspatercept-AAMT

FibroGen has reached agreement with the FDA on important design elements for a pivotal Phase 3 clinical trial for roxadustat for the treatment of anemia in patients with lower-risk myelodysplastic syndromes (LR-MDS) and high red blood cell (RBC) transfusion burden Company intends to file the Phase 3 protocol in the fourth quarter of 2025 Aug. 07, 2025 -- FibroGen, Inc. (NASDAQ: FGEN) today announced positive feedback from its Type C meeting with the FDA, supporting the advancement of roxadustat for the treatment of anemia in patients with LR-MDS and high RBC transfusion burden, based on a post-hoc subgroup analysis from the MATTERHORN Phase 3 trial. “We are very pleased with the feedback we received from the FDA regarding roxadustat in patients with LR-MDS and anemia with high transfusion burden. This indication, despite recent approvals, still represents a patient population with significant unmet need,” said Thane Wettig, Chief Executive Officer of FibroGen. “We believe roxadustat’s differentiated mechanism of action, favorable tolerability profile, and oral route of administration can potentially be an important addition to the treatment options for patients with high transfusion burden. We are starting preparations for the Phase 3 trial, while evaluating internal development and potential partnership opportunities for this late-stage program. We plan to submit the Phase 3 trial protocol to the FDA in the fourth quarter of this year.” “Anemia is a major cause of morbidity and complications in patients with LR-MDS, especially those with high transfusion burden, and is often associated with poor quality of life and shortened survival. While we have recent approvals of injectable drugs for this indication, there is a significant unmet need for novel, effective oral agents for this patient population,” added Amer Zeidan, M.B.B.S, M.H.S., Professor of Medicine at Yale School of Medicine and Chief of the Division of Hematologic Malignancies at Yale Cancer Center, and the global principal investigator of the planned Phase 3 study. “Roxadustat has already shown promising efficacy in this group of patients in the post-hoc analysis of the MATTERHORN study, and I am glad we have agreed on a pathway with the regulators to explore the full potential of roxadustat in the upcoming Phase 3 trial. I am excited by the prospect of roxadustat potentially becoming a novel, safe, convenient, and effective therapy for LR-MDS patients with high transfusion burden. FibroGen requested the Type C meeting based on the findings of a post-hoc analysis of data from the Phase 3 MATTERHORN trial of roxadustat in anemia-associated with LR-MDS. In patients with high RBC transfusion burden at baseline (≥4 units over 8 weeks1), a pronounced treatment effect was observed: 36% (8/22) of patients achieved transfusion independence (TI) for ≥ 56 days on roxadustat vs 7% (1/15) of patients on placebo within 28 weeks (nominal p-value of 0.041). The planned Phase 3 trial will assess the safety and efficacy of roxadustat in a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled design in approximately 200 patients with LR-MDS. Alignment was reached with the FDA on the patient population (patients requiring ≥ 4 pRBC units in two consecutive 8-week periods prior to randomization, who are refractory to, intolerant to, or ineligible for prior erythropoiesis-stimulating agents (ESA) therapy), dose regimen, as well as management of potential thrombotic risk through eligibility and dose modification and discontinuation criteria. As the primary endpoint for the study, the Company is considering either 8-week or 16-week RBC TI. Myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS) are a group of disorders characterized by dysfunctional progenitor blood cells and stem cells, resulting in chronic anemia in most patients. Annual incidence rates of MDS are estimated to be 4.9/100,000 adults in the U.S, thereof 77% are considered lower-risk MDS. Approximately 80% of patients with MDS have anemia at the time of diagnosis, and around 60% of patients with MDS will experience severe anemia (hemoglobin <8 g/dL) at some point during the course of their disease. Anemia in patients with MDS is associated with increased risk of cardiovascular complications and the need for blood transfusion. Approximately 50% of patients with MDS require regular red blood cell transfusions. Transfusion dependent MDS patients suffer higher rates of cardiac events, infections, and iron overload with the related complications. In addition, anemia frequently leads to significant fatigue, cognitive dysfunction, and decreased quality of life. Today, patients are routinely treated with erythropoiesis-stimulating agents (ESAs), luspatercept, imetelstat, or lenalidomide in lower-risk MDS with isolated del(5q), and hypomethylating agents (HMAs) in higher-risk disease. Only 35-40% of patients respond to current treatments and the durability of response is short. Moreover, these treatments are challenging to dose-calibrate and can only be administered via subcutaneous injection or through IV infusion. There remains a high unmet need for the treatment of anemia associated with MDS, and new strategies that provide durable response and the convenience of oral administration are highly desired in managing patients with MDS. Roxadustat, an oral medication, is the first in a new class of medicines comprising HIF-PH inhibitors that promote erythropoiesis, or red blood cell production, through increased endogenous production of erythropoietin, improved iron absorption and mobilization, and downregulation of hepcidin. Roxadustat is in clinical development for chemotherapy-induced anemia (CIA) and a Supplemental New Drug Application (sNDA) has been accepted by the China Health Authority. Roxadustat is approved in China, Europe, Japan, and numerous other countries for the treatment of anemia of CKD in adult patients on dialysis (DD) and not on dialysis (NDD). FibroGen has the sole rights to roxadustat in the United States, Canada, Mexico, and in all markets not held by AstraZeneca or licensed to Astellas. Astellas and FibroGen are collaborating on the commercialization of roxadustat for the treatment of anemia in territories including Japan, Europe, Turkey, Russia, and the Commonwealth of Independent States, the Middle East, and South Africa. FibroGen, Inc. is a biopharmaceutical company focused on accelerating the development of novel therapies at the frontiers of cancer biology. Roxadustat (爱瑞卓®, EVRENZO™) is currently approved in China, Europe, Japan, and numerous other countries for the treatment of anemia in chronic kidney disease (CKD) patients on dialysis and not on dialysis. Roxadustat is in clinical development for chemotherapy-induced anemia (CIA) and a Supplemental New Drug Application (sNDA) has been accepted for review by the China Health Authority. FG-3246 (also known as FOR46), a first-in-class antibody-drug conjugate (ADC) targeting CD46 is in development for the treatment of metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer. This program also includes the development of an associated CD46-targeted PET biomarker. In addition, FibroGen has expanded its research and development portfolio to include two immuno-oncology product candidates for the treatment of solid tumors. The content above comes from the network. if any infringement, please contact us to modify.