Roche has announced that the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved Actemra/RoActemra (tocilizumab)) subcutaneous injection for the treatment of GCA, a chronic and severe autoimmune condition. Actemra/RoActemra is the first therapy approved by the FDA for the treatment of adult patients with GCA. This is the sixth FDA approval for Actemra/RoActemra since the medicine was launched in 2010.

“Today’s FDA decision means people living with giant cell arteritis will, for the first time, have an FDA-approved treatment option for this debilitating disease,” said Sandra Horning, MD, Chief Medical Officer and Head of Global Product Development. “With no new treatments in more than 50 years, this approval could be transformational for people with GCA and for their physicians.”

The approval is based on the positive outcome of the Phase III GiACTA study evaluating Actemra/RoActemra in patients with GCA. The results showed that Actemra/RoActemra, initially combined with a six-month steroid (glucocorticoid) regimen, more effectively sustained remission through 52 weeks (56 percent in the Actemra/RoActemra weekly group and 53.1 percent in the Actemra/RoActemra bi-weekly group) compared to placebo combined with a 26-week steroid taper (14 percent)1 and placebo combined with a 52-week steroid taper (17.6 percent).
About the GiACTA study

GiACTA (NCT01791153) is a Phase III, global, randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial investigating the efficacy and safety of Actemra/RoActemra as a novel treatment for GCA. It is the first successful clinical trial conducted in GCA and the first to use blinded, variable-dose, variable-duration steroid regimens. The multicentre study was conducted in 251 patients across 76 sites in 14 countries. The primary endpoint was evaluated at 52 weeks.