Designation follows December 2023 FDA approval for the treatment of these serious, potentially life-threatening fungal infections in children CRESEMBA receives seven years and six months of US market exclusivity for these pediatric indications
The FDA grants orphan drug exclusivity to orphan drugs that receive FDA marketing approval. As the first company to obtain FDA approval for the treatment of IA and IM in patients as young as one for a triazole antifungal, Astellas has received orphan drug exclusivity, which provides seven years of exclusive marketing rights for CRESEMBA in those indications beginning from the date of approval of the supplemental New Drug Application on Dec. 8, 2023. Pediatric exclusivity extends that period by another six months. The FDA previously granted orphan drug exclusivity for CRESEMBA in 2015 for the treatment of IA and IM in adults. Laura Kovanda, PhD, Executive Director, Asset Lead, BioPharma Development, Astellas "Astellas recognizes the importance of addressing significant unmet medical needs, especially for pediatric patients with rare and potentially life-threatening IA and IM infections. I am incredibly proud of the Astellas team for advancing research, development and commercialization to offer CRESEMBA to pediatric patients who have limited treatment options." CRESEMBA is the only azole antifungal therapy FDA approved for the treatment of IA and IM in patients as young as one. CRESEMBA for injection: adults and pediatric patients 1 year of age and older CRESEMBA capsules: adults and pediatric patients 6 years of age and older who weigh 16 kg and greater Specimens for fungal culture and other relevant laboratory studies (including histopathology) to isolate and identify causative organism(s) should be obtained prior to initiating antifungal therapy. Therapy may be instituted before the results of the cultures and other laboratory studies are known. However, once these results become available, antifungal therapy should be adjusted accordingly.
Embryo-Fetal Toxicity: During pregnancy, CRESEMBA may cause fetal harm when administered, and CRESEMBA should only be used if the potential benefit to the patient outweighs the risk to the fetus. Women who become pregnant while receiving CRESEMBA are encouraged to contact their physician. Drug Particulates: Following dilution, CRESEMBA intravenous formulation may form precipitate from the insoluble isavuconazole. Administer CRESEMBA through an in-line filter. In adult patients, the most frequently reported adverse reactions among CRESEMBA-treated patients were nausea (26%), vomiting (25%), diarrhea (22%), headache (17%), elevated liver chemistry tests (16%), hypokalemia (14%), constipation (13%), dyspnea (12%), cough (12%), peripheral edema (11%), and back pain (10%). In general, adverse reactions in pediatric patients (including serious adverse reactions and adverse reactions leading to permanent discontinuation of CRESEMBA) were similar to those reported in adults. For Full Prescribing Information, please visit here.
Astellas Pharma US, Inc. is a U.S. affiliate of Tokyo-based Astellas Pharma Inc., a pharmaceutical company conducting business in more than 70 countries around the world. Astellas stands on the forefront of healthcare change to turn innovative science into value for patients. Keeping our focus on addressing unmet medical needs and conducting our business with ethics and integrity enables us to improve the health of people throughout the U.S. and around the world. CRESEMBA was licensed from and co-developed with Basilea Pharmaceutica International Ltd, Allschwil. For more information on Astellas, please visit: https://www.astellas.com/us. You can also follow us on Twitter at @AstellasUS, Facebook at www.facebook.com/AstellasUS or LinkedIn at www.linkedin.com/company/astellas-pharma-us. Astellas Pharma Inc. is a pharmaceutical company conducting business in more than 70 countries around the world. We are promoting the Focus Area Approach that is designed to identify opportunities for the continuous creation of new drugs to address diseases with high unmet medical needs by focusing on Biology and Modality. Furthermore, we are also looking beyond our foundational Rx focus to create Rx+® healthcare solutions that combine our expertise and knowledge with cutting-edge technology in different fields of external partners. Through these efforts, Astellas stands on the forefront of healthcare change to turn innovative science into VALUE for patients. For more information, please visit our website at https://www.astellas.com/en. In this press release, statements made with respect to current plans, estimates, strategies and beliefs and other statements that are not historical facts are forward-looking statements about the future performance of Astellas. These statements are based on management's current assumptions and beliefs in light of the information currently available to it and involve known and unknown risks and uncertainties. A number of factors could cause actual results to differ materially from those discussed in the forward-looking statements. Such factors include, but are not limited to: (i) changes in general economic conditions and in laws and regulations, relating to pharmaceutical markets, (ii) currency exchange rate fluctuations, (iii) delays in new product launches, (iv) the inability of Astellas to market existing and new products effectively, (v) the inability of Astellas to continue to effectively research and develop products accepted by customers in highly competitive markets, and (vi) infringements of Astellas' intellectual property rights by third parties. 1 Thornton CR. Detection of invasive aspergillosis. Adv Appl Microbiol. 2010;70:187-216. doi: 10.1016/S0065-2164(10)70006-X. Epub 2010 Mar 6. PMID: 20359458. 2 Zhang Y, Sung AH, Rubinstein E, Benigno M, Chambers R, Patino N, Aram JA. Characterizing patients with rare mucormycosis infections using real-world data. BMC Infect Dis. 2022;22(1):154. doi: 10.1186/s12879-022-07115-w. PMID: 35164701; PMCID: PMC8845356. 3 Pana ZD, Roilides E, Warris A, Groll AH, Zaoutis T. Epidemiology of Invasive Fungal Disease in Children. J Pediatric Infect Dis Soc. 2017;6(suppl_1):S3-S11. doi:10.1093/jpids/pix046