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U.S. Food and Drug Administration Expands Indication for Prograf for Prevention of Organ Rejection in Adult and Pediatric Lung Transplant Recipients

NORTHBROOK, Ill., July 20, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Astellas Pharma Inc. (TSE: 4503, President and CEO: Kenji Yasukawa, Ph.D., "Astellas") announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved its supplemental New Drug Application (sNDA) for Prograf (tacrolimus) for the prevention of organ rejection in adult and pediatric lung transplant recipients.

"We are pleased with this FDA approval and the Agency's continued recognition of Prograf, which was first approved for liver transplant recipients nearly three decades ago," said Salim Mujais, Senior Vice President, Therapeutic Area Head, Medical Specialties, Astellas. "The current approval expands the indications for Prograf from liver, kidney and heart transplants to adult and pediatric patients who receive a lung transplant in combination with other medicines to help prevent organ rejection."

The sNDA submission was based on Real World Evidence (RWE) generated from a retrospective observational study of data from the U.S. Scientific Registry of Transplant Recipients (SRTR), which captures data on all transplants performed in the U.S. The study analyzed outcomes based on discharge immunosuppression treatment regimens in recipients of a primary lung transplant between 1999 and 2017 who were alive at the time of discharge. In adult (n=15,478) and pediatric (n=450) patients receiving tacrolimus immediate-release (IR) products in combination with mycophenolate mofetil (MMF), the one-year graft survival estimates from time of discharge were 90.9% (adult) and 91.7% (pediatric). In adult (n=4,263) and pediatric (n=72) patients receiving tacrolimus IR in combination with azathioprine (AZA), the one-year graft survival estimates from time of discharge were 90.8% (adult) and 84.7% (pediatric). The number of lung transplants performed annually increased from 724 in 1999 to 2,248 in 2017, and in recent years, over 85.5% of lung transplant recipients are treated with tacrolimus, MMF and steroids.i,ii

Based on the SRTR study results, published clinical trials and postmarketing reports, the safety profile for lung transplant patients treated with Prograf is consistent with the safety profile in liver, kidney and heart transplant patients treated with Prograf. The primary adverse reactions described include renal dysfunction, infection, diabetes, gastrointestinal disturbances (e.g., diarrhea), hypertension, and neurological events (e.g., tremor). As expected, lung transplant patients have a higher incidence of pulmonary complications (e.g., pneumonia, bronchiolitis obliterans syndrome) than other solid organ transplant patients, which is in part due to the underlying disease and to the nature of the transplanted organ.

The FDA granted Orphan Drug Designation (ODD) to Prograf for the prevention of rejection after lung transplant in September 2019. Prograf, which was discovered and developed by Astellas, is currently marketed in approximately 100 countries/areas and has greatly contributed to medical transplantation globally as a first-line immunosuppressant for organ transplantation.

About Prograf (tacrolimus)
Prograf® was initially approved by the FDA in 1994. Prograf is a calcineurin-inhibitor immunosuppressant indicated for the prophylaxis of organ rejection in adult and pediatric patients receiving allogeneic liver, kidney, heart or lung transplants, in combination with other immunosuppressants.

What is Prograf?

Prograf is a prescription medicine used with other medicines to help prevent organ rejection in people who have had a kidney, liver, heart or lung transplant.
Prograf capsules and Prograf Granules are types of tacrolimus immediate-release drugs and they are not the same as tacrolimus extended-release tablets or tacrolimus extended-release capsules. Your healthcare provider should decide what medicine is right for you.

About Astellas
Astellas Pharma Inc. is a pharmaceutical company conducting business in more than 70 countries around the world. We are promoting the Focus Area Approach that is designed to identify opportunities for the continuous creation of new drugs to address diseases with high unmet medical needs by focusing on Biology and Modality. Furthermore, we are also looking beyond our foundational Rx focus to create Rx+® healthcare solutions that combine our expertise and knowledge with cutting-edge technology in different fields of external partners. Through these efforts, Astellas stands on the forefront of healthcare change to turn innovative science into value for patients. For more information, please visit our website at https://www.astellas.com/en.

Astellas Cautionary Notes
In this press release, statements made with respect to current plans, estimates, strategies and beliefs and other statements that are not historical facts are forward-looking statements about the future performance of Astellas. These statements are based on management's current assumptions and beliefs in light of the information currently available to it and involve known and unknown risks and uncertainties. A number of factors could cause actual results to differ materially from those discussed in the forward-looking statements. Such factors include, but are not limited to: (i) changes in general economic conditions and in laws and regulations, relating to pharmaceutical markets, (ii) currency exchange rate fluctuations, (iii) delays in new product launches, (iv) the inability of Astellas to market existing and new products effectively, (v) the inability of Astellas to continue to effectively research and develop products accepted by customers in highly competitive markets, and (vi) infringements of Astellas' intellectual property rights by third parties.

Information about pharmaceutical products (including products currently in development), which is included in this press release is not intended to constitute an advertisement or medical advice.

  1. i Data on file. Northbrook, IL: Astellas Inc.
    ii M. Valapour, C. J. Lehr, M. A. Skeans, J. M. Smith, K. Uccellini, R. Goff, J. Foutz, A. K. Israni, J. J. Snyder, B. L. Kasiske. "OPTN/SRTR 2018 Annual Data Report: Lung." American Journal of Transplantation, vol. 20, no. s1, 2020, pp. 427–508, doi:10.1111/ajt.15677.
  3. SOURCE Astellas Pharma Inc.

Posted: July 2021

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