Priority Review Granted for SecreFlo for Detection of Pancreatic Duct Abnormalities
Repligen announced that the FDA has accepted for filing and granted Priority Review to the Company's new drug application (NDA) for SecreFlo for the improved detection of pancreatic duct abnormalities in patients with pancreatitis.
The SecreFlo NDA was submitted to the FDA based on positive outcomes from the re-read of the Company's Phase 3 clinical study. This pivotal study was a multi-center, baseline controlled, single dose study in which 258 patients were enrolled at 23 clinical sites in the U.S. and Canada. Each patient in the study received an MRI of the pancreas with and without SecreFlo and separately underwent endoscopy (ERCP) as a diagnostic reference. The MRI images were randomized and independently read and reviewed by three central radiologists.
The Phase 3 study re-read demonstrated that all endpoints were met with statistical significance and that SecreFlo was safe and well tolerated. The study's co-primary endpoints were achievement of a statistically significant improvement in sensitivity of detection of abnormalities of the pancreatic ducts with minimal loss in specificity by two of the three central radiologists reading the MRI images. The study met its primary endpoints, demonstrating that the addition of SecreFlo to MRI resulted in a highly statistically significant improvement (P<0.0001) in sensitivity of detection of ten prespecified abnormalities of the pancreatic ducts, with minimal loss in specificity (<7.5%).
All three secondary endpoints were also met, with each demonstrating highly statistically significant improvements (P<0.0001) in image quality, visualization of the main pancreatic duct and diagnostic confidence when compared to MRI alone. A radiologist's ability to more confidently identify and characterize pancreatic duct abnormalities has the potential to substantially improve “next-step” clinical decisions (patient triage) and patient outcomes.
SecreFlo is a synthetic version of the natural human hormone secretin, which is produced in the small intestine and is important to the process of digestion. Secretin naturally stimulates the pancreas to release digestive juices into the pancreatic ducts, which fill and expand with fluid that eventually empties into the intestine. When filled with fluid, the pancreatic ducts are more effectively visualized by MRI as the fluid appears white on MRI readings. SecreFlo can therefore be utilized in combination with MRI to stimulate the release of watery fluid into the pancreatic ducts “on demand” in order to improve MRI quality and more confidently identify pancreatic duct abnormalities. Such identification is important in determining the cause and potential treatment options for diseases such as pancreatitis.
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