RESEARCH TRIANGLE PARK – After 13 years as a clinical-stage oncology company, G1 Therapeutics of Research Triangle Park transformed into a commercial-stage company overnight upon the approval of its first drug by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.
The FDA on Feb. 12 approved G1’s trilaciclib, to be marketed as Cosela, for protecting bone marrow from chemotherapy damage in adult patients with extensive-stage small cell lung cancer (ES-SCLC).
“Cosela will help change the chemotherapy experience for people who are battling ES-SCLC,” said Jack Bailey, the company’s chief executive officer. “G1 is proud to deliver Cosela to patients and their families as the first and only therapy to help protect against chemotherapy-induced myelosuppression.”
Myelosuppression, or damage to the bone marrow, is the most serious and life-threatening side effect of chemotherapy. Chemotherapy-induced myelosuppression reduces the body’s essential supply of white blood cells, red blood cells and platelets, and can lead to increased risks of infection, severe anemia and bleeding.
RTP drug firm G1 secures FDA approval for treatment to prevent chemo damage to bone marrow
“These complications impact patients’ quality of life and may also result in chemotherapy dose reductions and delays,” said Jeffrey Crawford, M.D., Geller Professor for Research in Cancer in the Department of Medicine and Duke Cancer Institute. “In clinical trials, the addition of trilaciclib to extensive-stage small cell lung cancer chemotherapy treatment regimens reduced myelosuppression and improved clinical outcomes. The good news is that these benefits of trilaciclib will now be available for our patients in clinical practice.”
Cosela is expected to be commercially available through G1’s specialty distributor partner network in early March, the company said.
G1 is committed to helping patients with in the U.S. gain access to treatment with Cosela through access and affordability programs. Patients and healthcare can call the company’s support center at 833-418-6663 for information.
A proactive approach
Cosela is intended to be given as a 30-minute infusion four hours prior to chemotherapy treatments containing platinum/etoposide or topotecan. About 90 percent of all patients with ES-SCLC receive at least one of these chemotherapy regimens during their treatment, according to G1.
The approval of Cosela is based on data from three randomized, placebo-controlled trials. Data showed that patients receiving Cosela before the start of chemotherapy had less neutropenia, an abnormally low number of neutrophils, white blood cells that fight bacterial and fungal infection.
Data also showed a positive impact on red blood cell transfusions and other myeloprotective measures.
“Chemotherapy is the most effective and widely used approach to treating people diagnosed with extensive-stage small cell lung cancer,” Bailey said. “However, standard-of-care chemotherapy regimens are highly myelosuppressive and can lead to costly hospitalizations and rescue interventions.”
To date, oncologists have relied on “rescue therapy,” a mix of growth factor agents, antibiotics and red blood cell transfusions, to restore bone marrow after it has been damaged by chemotherapy.
“By contrast, trilaciclib provides the first proactive approach to myelosuppression through a unique mechanism of action that helps protect the bone marrow from damage by chemotherapy,” Crawford said.
Cosela helps protect bone marrow cells from chemotherapy damage by inhibiting cyclin- dependent kinase 4 and 6, two enzymes involved in cancer cell growth. Inhibiting these enzymes temporarily stops hematopoietic stem cells and progenitor cells in the bone marrow from dividing, making them resistant to damage from chemotherapy drugs that target dividing cells.
A welcomed therapy
Bonnie J. Addario, lung cancer survivor, co-founder and board chair of the Go2 Foundation for Lung Cancer, said many people with extensive-stage small cell lung cancer rely on chemotherapy to extend their lives and alleviate their symptoms.
“Unfortunately, the vast majority will experience chemotherapy-induced side effects, resulting in dose delays and reductions, and increased utilization of healthcare services,” she said.
“G1 shares our organization’s goal to improve the quality of life of those diagnosed with lung cancer and to transform survivorship among people living with this insidious disease. We are thrilled to see new advancements that can help improve the lives of those living with small cell lung cancer.”
About 30,000 small cell lung cancer patients are treated in the United States annually. SCLC, one of the two main types of lung cancer, accounts for about 10 to 15 percent of all lung cancers but is the more aggressive disease, tending to grow and spread faster than the other type, non-small cell lung cancer.
Collaboration with Boehringer Ingelheim
In June 2020, G1 announced a three-year co-promotion agreement with Boehringer Ingelheim for Cosela in small cell lung cancer in the U.S. and Puerto Rico. G1 will lead marketing, market access and medical engagement initiatives for Cosela while Boehringer Ingelheim’s oncology commercial team will lead sales force engagement initiatives.
G1 will book revenue and retain development and commercialization rights to Cosela and pay Boehringer Ingelheim a promotional fee based on net sales.
The three-year agreement does not extend to additional indications that G1 is evaluating for trilaciclib: breast, colorectal, bladder and non-small cell lung cancers.
G1 is a 2008 spin-out of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
The company raised $108 million in an initial public offering of stock in 2017 after receiving more than $95 million in three rounds of venture capital funding. The North Carolina Biotechnology Center provided two early-stage loans totaling $500,000.
G1’s stock is traded on the Nasdaq Global Select Market under the ticker symbol GTHX.
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