EU approves Scemblix for chronic myeloid leukemia (Ph+ CML-CP)

Scemblix is the first CML treatment in Europe that works by specifically targeting the ABL myristoyl pocket (also known as a STAMP inhibitor in scientific literature), offering a reimagined treatment approach for patients who experience intolerance and/or resistance to currently available TKI therapies.

The EC approval for Scemblix follows a positive opinion by the Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use (CHMP) of the European Medicines Agency (EMA) in June, and the previous designation of Scemblix as an orphan drug; and it is applicable to all 27 European Union member states plus Iceland, Norway and Liechtenstein. The approval is based on results from the pivotal Phase III ASCEMBL trial, which showed a near doubling in MMR rate for patients treated with Scemblix vs. Bosulif (bosutinib) (25.5% vs. 13.2%, [P=.029]), with a more than three times lower discontinuation rate due to adverse reactions (5.8% vs. 21.1%), at the 24-week primary endpoint.

These results were confirmed in the 96-week longer-term follow-up where the MMR rate was more than double with Scemblix (37.6%, 95% CI: 29.99-45.65) compared with Bosulif (15.8%, 95% CI: 8.43-25.96) and the discontinuation rate due to adverse reactions was 7.7% for Scemblix and 26.3% for Bosulif. These data were shared as oral presentations during the annual meetings of the American Society for Clinical Oncology (ASCO) and the European Hematology Association (EHA) in June 2022. Based on all patients exposed to Scemblix in the ASCEMBL study and in the phase I study, the most common (incidence at least 20%) adverse reactions in patients receiving asciminib were musculoskeletal pain (37.1%), upper respiratory tract infections (28.1%), thrombocytopenia (27.5%), fatigue (27.2%), headache (24.2%), arthralgia (21.6%), increased pancreatic enzymes (21.3%), abdominal pain (21.3%), diarrhoea (20.5%) and nausea (20.2%).