Tibotec Applies for Traditional Approval of NNRTI Etravirine (Intelence)

Tibotec announced on February 5, 2009 that the company has submitted an application to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for traditional approval for its NNRTI etravirine (Intelence). The application includes 48-week data from 2 Phase 3 studies known as DUET-1 and DUET-2.

Following are edited excerpts from a Tibotec press release about etravirine and the company's request for traditional approval of the drug.

Tibotec Submits Application to U.S. Food and Drug Administration Seeking Traditional Approval for Intelence (Etravirine)

Yardley, PA -- February 5, 2009 -- Tibotec, Inc. today announced it has submitted an application to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) seeking traditional approval for Intelence (etravirine) tablets, a non-nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitor (NNRTI). The application for traditional approval includes 48-week data from two Phase 3 studies known as DUET-1 and DUET-2. Intelence is currently marketed in the U.S. by Tibotec Therapeutics, a division of Centocor Ortho Biotech Products, L.P.

Intelence received accelerated approval in January 2008. As part of the post-marketing commitment, Tibotec is required to submit 48-week data from the DUET studies to the FDA in order for it to consider traditional approval for Intelence.

Intelence, in combination with other antiretroviral agents, is currently indicated for the treatment of human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) infection in antiretroviral treatment-experienced adult patients, who have evidence of viral replication and HIV-1 strains resistant to a NNRTI and other antiretroviral (ARV) agents.

This indication is based on Week 24 analyses from two randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trials of Intelence. Both studies were conducted in clinically advanced, three-class antiretroviral (NNRTI, N[t]RTI, PI) treatment-experienced adults.

The following points should be considered when initiating therapy with Intelence:

• Treatment history and, when available, resistance testing, should guide the use of Intelence.

• The use of other active antiretroviral agents with Intelence is associated with an increased likelihood of treatment response.

• In patients who have experienced virologic failure on a NNRTI-containing regimen, do not use Intelence in combination with only N[t]RTIs.

• The risks and benefits of Intelence have not been established in pediatric patients or in treatment-naive adult patients.

DUET-1 AND DUET-2

The traditional approval filing includes the 48-week efficacy and safety results of DUET-1 and DUET-2, two Phase 3 randomized, placebo-controlled studies that examined the use of Intelence in combination with other antiretroviral agents in adult treatment-experienced HIV-1 patients with documented resistance to NNRTIs and protease inhibitors. Participants in the DUET studies were randomized to receive Intelence 200 mg twice daily or placebo, each given in addition to a background regimen. For all patients, the [background regimen] included darunavir/ritonavir, plus at least two investigator-selected antiretroviral drugs (N(t)RTIs with or without enfuvirtide).

Forty-eight-week data from the DUET trials were presented at the 2008 Conference on Retroviruses and Opportunistic Infections.

Full prescribing information for etravirine is available at www.intelence-info.com.

About Tibotec

Tibotec, Inc., based in Cork, Ireland, is a pharmaceutical research and development company. The Company's main research and development facilities are in Mechelen, Belgium with offices in Yardley, PA. Tibotec is dedicated to the discovery and development of innovative HIV/AIDS drugs and anti-infectives for diseases of high unmet medical need.

About Tibotec Therapeutics

Tibotec Therapeutics, a division of Centocor Ortho Biotech Products, L.P., headquartered in Bridgewater, N.J., is dedicated to delivering innovative virology therapeutics that help healthcare professionals address serious unmet needs in people living with HIV.

Centocor Ortho Biotech Products, L.P. and Tibotec Pharmaceuticals are subsidiaries of Johnson & Johnson.

For more information, visit www.tibotec.com.

2/10/09

Source

Tibotec, Inc. Tibotec Submits Application to U.S. Food and Drug Administration Seeking Traditional Approval for Intelence (Etravirine). Press Release. February 5, 2009.