Monitor patients for signs and symptoms of neurologic toxicities (Table 2). Rule out other causes of neurologic symptoms. Provide intensive care supportive therapy for severe or life-threatening neurologic toxicities. If neurologic toxicity is suspected, manage according to the recommendations in Table 2.
- Corticosteroids according to the more aggressive intervention based on the CRS and neurologic toxicity grades in Tables 1 and 2
- Tocilizumab according to the CRS grade in Table 1
- Antiseizure medication according to the neurologic toxicity in Table 2
Table 2: Neurologic Toxicity (NT) Grading and Management Guidance| NT Grade NCI CTCAE criteria for grading neurologic toxicities version. 4.03. | Corticosteroids and Antiseizure Medication |
|---|
| Grade 1 | Start non-sedating, antiseizure medicines (e.g., levetiracetam) for seizure prophylaxis. If 72 hours or more after infusion, observe. If less than 72 hours after infusion, consider dexamethasone 10 mg IV every 12 to 24 hours for 2 to 3 days. |
| Grade 2 | Start non-sedating, antiseizure medicines (e.g., levetiracetam) for seizure prophylaxis. Dexamethasone 10 mg IV every 12 hours for 2-3 days, or longer for persistent symptoms. Consider taper for a total steroid exposure of greater than 3 days. If no improvement after 24 hours or worsening of neurologic toxicity, increase the dose and/or frequency of dexamethasone up to a maximum of 20 mg IV every 6 hours. If no improvement after another 24 hours, rapidly progressing symptoms, or life-threatening complications arise, give methylprednisolone (2 mg/kg loading dose, followed by 2 mg/kg divided 4 times a day; taper within 7 days). |
| Grade 3 | Start non-sedating, antiseizure medicines (e.g., levetiracetam) for seizure prophylaxis. Dexamethasone 10 to 20 mg IV every 8 to 12 hours. Steroids are not recommended for isolated Grade 3 headaches. If no improvement after 24 hours or worsening of neurologic toxicity, escalate to methylprednisolone (dose and frequency as per Grade 2). If cerebral edema is suspected, consider hyperventilation and hyperosmolar therapy. Give high-dose methylprednisolone (1-2 g, repeat every 24 hours if needed; taper as clinically indicated) and cyclophosphamide 1.5 g/m2. |
| Grade 4 | Start non-sedating, antiseizure medicines (e.g., levetiracetam) for seizure prophylaxis. Dexamethasone 20 mg IV every 6 hours. If no improvement after 24 hours or worsening of neurologic toxicity, escalate to methylprednisolone (dose and frequency as per Grade 2). If cerebral edema is suspected, consider hyperventilation and hyperosmolar therapy. Give high-dose methylprednisolone (1-2 g, repeat every 24 hours if needed; taper as clinically indicated), and cyclophosphamide 1.5 g/m2. |
Viral Reactivation
Hepatitis B virus (HBV) reactivation, in some cases resulting in fulminant hepatitis, hepatic failure, and death, can occur in patients treated with drugs directed against B cells.
Ten of the 11 patients in the TRANSCEND study with a prior history of HBV were treated with concurrent antiviral suppressive therapy to prevent HBV reactivation during and after treatment with BREYANZI.
Perform screening for HBV, HCV, and HIV in accordance with clinical guidelines before collection of cells for manufacturing.
Live Vaccines
The safety of immunization with live viral vaccines during or following BREYANZI treatment has not been studied. Vaccination with live virus vaccines is not recommended for at least 6 weeks prior to the start of lymphodepleting chemotherapy, during BREYANZI treatment, and until immune recovery following treatment with BREYANZI.
Risk Summary
There are no available data with BREYANZI use in pregnant women. No animal reproductive and developmental toxicity studies have been conducted with BREYANZI to assess whether it can cause fetal harm when administered to a pregnant woman.
It is not known if BREYANZI has the potential to be transferred to the fetus. Based on the mechanism of action, if the transduced cells cross the placenta, they may cause fetal toxicity, including B-cell lymphocytopenia and hypogammaglobulinemia. Therefore, BREYANZI is not recommended for women who are pregnant, and pregnancy after BREYANZI infusion should be discussed with the treating physician.
In the U.S. general population, the estimated background risk of major birth defects and miscarriage in clinically recognized pregnancies is 2% to 4% and 15% to 20%, respectively.
Risk Summary
There is no information regarding the presence of BREYANZI in human milk, the effect on the breastfed infant, and the effects on milk production. The developmental and health benefits of breastfeeding should be considered along with the mother's clinical need for BREYANZI and any potential adverse effects on the breastfed infant from BREYANZI or from the underlying maternal condition.
Pregnancy Testing
Pregnancy status of females with reproductive potential should be verified. Sexually active females of reproductive potential should have a pregnancy test prior to starting treatment with BREYANZI.
Contraception
See the prescribing information for fludarabine and cyclophosphamide for information on the need for effective contraception in patients who receive lymphodepleting chemotherapy.
There are insufficient exposure data to provide a recommendation concerning duration of contraception following treatment with BREYANZI.
Infertility
There are no data on the effects of BREYANZI on fertility.
Relapsed or Refractory Large B-Cell Lymphoma
The efficacy of BREYANZI was evaluated in an open-label, multicenter, single-arm trial (TRANSCEND; NCT02631044) in adult patients with relapsed or refractory large B-cell non-Hodgkin lymphoma after at least 2 lines of therapy. The study included patients with ECOG performance status ≤ 2, prior autologous and/or allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplant (HSCT), and secondary CNS lymphoma involvement. The study excluded patients with a creatinine clearance of less than 30 mL/min, alanine aminotransferase > 5 times the upper limit of normal, or left ventricular ejection fraction < 40%. There was no prespecified threshold for blood counts; patients were eligible to enroll if they were assessed by the investigator to have adequate bone marrow function to receive lymphodepleting chemotherapy. Bridging therapy for disease control was permitted between apheresis and the start of lymphodepleting chemotherapy, including intrathecal chemotherapy or radiation therapy for treatment of CNS involvement with lymphoma.
BREYANZI was administered two to seven days following completion of lymphodepleting chemotherapy. The lymphodepleting chemotherapy regimen consisted of fludarabine 30 mg/m2/day and cyclophosphamide 300 mg/m2/day concurrently for 3 days. BREYANZI was administered in the inpatient and outpatient setting.
Of 299 patients who underwent leukapheresis for whom BREYANZI was manufactured in the dose range of 50 to 110 × 106 CAR-positive viable T cells:
- 44 (15%) did not receive CAR-positive T cells either due to manufacturing failures (n=2), death (n=29), disease complications (n=6), or other reasons (n=7)
- 204 (68%) received BREYANZI in the intended dose range, of whom 192 were evaluable for efficacy (main efficacy population); 12 were not evaluable due to absence of PET positive disease at study baseline or after bridging therapy
- 51 (17%) either received BREYANZI outside of the intended dose range (n=26) or received CAR-positive T cells that did not meet the product specifications for BREYANZI (manufacturing failures; n=25).
Of the 192 patients in the main efficacy population, the median age was 63 years (range: 18 to 86 years), 69% were male, 84% were white, 6% were black, and 4.7% were Asian. The median number of prior therapies was 3 (range: 1 to 8). Diagnoses were de novo DLBCL (53%), DLBCL transformed from indolent lymphoma (25%), high-grade B-cell lymphoma (14%), primary mediastinal large B-cell lymphoma (7%), follicular lymphoma, grade 3B (1.0%). Of these patients, 64% had disease refractory to last therapy, 53% had primary refractory disease, 37% had prior HSCT and 2.6% had CNS involvement.
Efficacy was based on complete response (CR) rate and duration of response (DOR), as determined by an independent review committee (IRC) using 2014 Lugano criteria (Tables 5 and 6). The median time to first response (CR or partial response [PR]) was 1.0 month (range: 0.7 to 8.9 months). The median time to first CR was 1.0 month (range 0.8 to 12.5 months). Of the 104 patients who achieved CR, 23 initially had stable disease (6 patients) or PR (17 patients), with a median time to improvement of 2.2 months (range: 0.7 to 11.6 months).
Table 5: Response Rate in Main Efficacy Population | BREYANZI-treated N=192 |
|---|
| CI=confidence interval. |
| Overall Response Rate Per the Lugano criteria, as assessed by an IRC. , n [95% CI] | 141 (73%) [67%, 80%] |
Complete Response, n [95% CI] | 104 (54%) [47%, 61%] |
Partial Response, n [95% CI] | 37 (19%) [14%, 26%] |
Table 6: Duration of Response | BREYANZI-treated Evaluable for efficacy. N=192 |
|---|
| Number of Responders | 141 |
|---|
| DOR=duration of response; CI=confidence interval; CR=complete response; PR=partial response; NR=not reached. |
| DOR (Months) | |
| Median | 16.7 |
| [95% CI] KM method was used to obtain 2-sided 95% confidence intervals. | [5.3, NR] |
| Range A + sign indicates a censored value. | 0.0+ to 23.5+ |
| DOR if Best Response is CR (Months) | |
| Median | NR |
| [95% CI] | [16.7, NR] |
| Range | 0.7+ to 23.5+ |
| DOR if Best Response is PR (Months) | |
| Median | 1.4 |
| [95% CI] | [1.1, 2.2] |
| Range | 0.0+ to 22.8+ |
Response durations were longer in patients who achieved a CR, as compared to patients with a best response of PR (Table 6). Of the 104 patients who achieved CR, 68 (65%) had remission lasting at least 6 months and 64 (62%) had remission lasting at least 9 months.
Of the 287 patients who underwent leukapheresis and had radiographically evaluable disease, 27 additional patients achieved a response, apart from the responses noted in Table 5. The IRC-assessed overall response rate in the leukapheresed population (n=287) was 59% (95% CI: 53, 64), with a CR rate of 43% (95% CI: 37, 49) and PR rate of 15% (95% CI: 11, 20). These efficacy results include responses that may have been contributed solely by bridging therapy, responses after receipt of product outside of the intended dose range, and responses to product that did not meet release specifications.
Manufactured by Juno Therapeutics Inc., a Bristol-Myers Squibb Company, Bothell, WA 98021.
BREYANZI® is a trademark of Juno Therapeutics, Inc., a Bristol-Myers Squibb Company.
Pat. https://www.bms.com/patient-and-caregivers/our-medicines.html
© 2021 Juno Therapeutics, Inc., a Bristol-Myers Squibb Company. All rights reserved.
BREPI.001/MG.001