Ipsen announced that the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved Ipsen’s Prior Approval Supplement application for the extended dosing interval of Somatuline Depot for patients suffering from acromegaly.

The approval revises the US Package Insert to allow acromegalic patient to be treated on an extended dosing interval for up to 8 weeks, through the addition of the following sentence in the labelling: “Patients who are controlled on Somatuline Depot 60 mg or 90 mg may be considered for an extended dosing interval of Somatuline Depot 120 mg every 6 or 8 weeks. GH and IGF-1 levels should be obtained 6 weeks after this change in dosing regimen to evaluate persistence of patient response”. The extended dosing interval has already been approved in all European countries where Somatuline Autogel is registered.

The Extended Dose Interval of Somatuline Depot 120mg of 6 to 8 weeks will provide patients with acromegaly who are currently controlled on Somatuline Depot 60mg or 90mg every 4 weeks, a possibility to reduce the number of injections per year. Stéphane Thiroloix, executive vice-president, Corporate Development at Ipsen, said: “This new approval confirms Ipsen’s positioning as a patient-centric organization and reaffirms the Group’s commitment to innovation for patient care. Ipsen is proud to provide physicians and acromegaly patients with an effective and convenient treatment option specifically developed to meet their medical needs. The Group will aggressively pursue its life cycle management strategy to maximize the potential of Somatuline Depot and to reinforce its status of key growth driver in the coming years.”

The active substance in Somatuline and Somatuline Autogel (Somatuline Depot in the US) is lanreotide, a somatostatin analog that inhibits the secretion of several endocrine, autocrine and paracrine functions. It is highly effective in inhibiting the secretion of growth hormones and certain hormones secreted by the digestive system.

2/3 Somatuline Autogel represents a major technological advance as it is the only formulation of a somatostatin analogue that enables rapid therapeutic response and a longer treatment interval in a pre-filled syringe for easier administration. Somatuline was developed and is registered for the treatment of acromegaly. It was subsequently developed for the treatment of certain syndromes associated with neuro-endocrine tumours (carcinoid syndrome) and registered as such is some countries (treatment of acromegaly remains the only indication of Somatuline Depot in the United States).

Ipsen is pursuing the following developments on Somatuline Autogel and Somatuline Depot: a phase III clinical trial of Somatuline Autogel for the treatment of non functioning neuro-endocrine tumours is in progress in Europe and in the US so as to support future marketing authorization applications. Additional phase III clinical trials for the treatment of functioning neuro-endocrine tumour symptoms were launched in 2009 so as to support a future marketing authorization application in the US. In Japan, Ipsen’s partner Teijin entered phase III with Somatuline Autogel for the treatment of acromegaly in January 2010 to support a future marketing authorization application in Japan.

Ipsen is a global biopharmaceutical group and contributes to the discovery and development of innovative drugs for patient care and development strategy is based on fast growing specialty care drugs in oncology, endocrinology, neurology and haematology and on primary care drugs.