Astellas Pharma Inc. (TSE: 4503, President and CEO: Naoki Okamura, “Astellas”) today announced that the European Medicines Agency (EMA) has validated its Type II variation for XTANDI® (enzalutamide) for the treatment of patients with non-metastatic hormone-sensitive prostate cancer (nmHSPC; also known as non-metastatic castration-sensitive prostate cancer or nmCSPC) with high-risk biochemical recurrence (BCR) who are unsuitable for salvage-radiotherapy.

Ahsan Arozullah, MD, MPH, Senior Vice President and Head of Oncology Development, Astellas
“As the most commonly diagnosed cancer in men in Europe, prostate cancer impacts hundreds of thousands of patients across the continent, and for those who have received initial curative treatment, a risk remains that their cancer may return in the form of biochemical recurrence. These patients, particularly those with rapidly rising PSA levels, need new therapeutic approaches. The validation of the Type II variation by the EMA marks an important step toward potentially making XTANDI, an existing standard of care for advanced prostate cancer in the E.U., available to patients with earlier stages of the disease who are at risk of their cancer spreading.”

Submission to the EMA was supported by data from the international Phase 3 EMBARK trial, which evaluated the safety and efficacy of XTANDI in patients with nmHSPC with high-risk BCR across three study arms: XTANDI plus leuprolide (n=355), placebo plus leuprolide (n=358), or XTANDI monotherapy (n=355).

The EMBARK study met its primary endpoint of metastasis-free survival (MFS) for the XTANDI plus leuprolide arm, demonstrating a statistically significant reduction in the risk of metastasis or death over placebo plus leuprolide. Detailed results from the trial were presented as a plenary session during the 2023 American Urological Association Annual Meeting on April 29.

The overall safety profile was consistent with the known safety profile of each of the medicines. XTANDI, either in combination with leuprolide or as a monotherapy, has not been approved by any regulatory agency for the treatment of patients with nmHSPC with high-risk BCR.

The EMBARK data are being discussed with other regulatory authorities around the world, including the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), to support additional license applications for XTANDI in this indication in 2023 and beyond.

Astellas has already reflected the impact from this acceptance in its financial forecast of the current fiscal year ending March 31, 2024.