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Rapid and sustained B-cell depletion with subcutaneous ofatumumab in relapsing multiple sclerosis: APLIOS, a
Amit Bar-Or1,2, Heinz Wiendl3, Xavier Montalban4
1A Bar-Or Center for Neuroinflammation and Experimental Therapeutics and Department of Neurology, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, 3400 Spruce Street - 3 Gates Building, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA.
Background:
Ofatumumab, the first fully human anti-CD20 monoclonal antibody, is approved in several countries for relapsing multiple sclerosis (RMS).
Objective:
To demonstrate the bioequivalence of ofatumumab administered by an autoinjector versus a pre-filled syringe (PFS) and to explore the effect of ofatumumab on B-cell depletion.
Methods:
APLIOS (NCT03560739) is a 12-week, open-label, parallel-group, phase-2 study in patients with RMS receiving subcutaneous ofatumumab 20 mg every 4 weeks (q4w) (from Week 4, after initial doses on Days 1, 7, and 14). Patients were randomized 10:10:1:1 to autoinjector or PFS in the abdomen, or autoinjector or PFS in the thigh, respectively. Bioequivalence was determined by area under the curve (AUC) and maximum plasma concentration (Cmax) for Weeks 8-12. B-cell depletion and safety/tolerability were assessed.
Results:
A total of 256 patients contributed to the bioequivalence analyses (autoinjector-abdomen, n = 128; PFS-abdomen, n = 128). Abdominal ofatumumab pharmacokinetic exposure was bioequivalent for autoinjector and PFS (geometric mean AUC, 487.7 vs 474.1 h × µg/mL (ratio 1.03); Cmax, 1.409 vs 1.409 µg/mL (ratio 1.00)). B-cell counts (median cells/µL) depleted rapidly in all groups from 214.0 (baseline) to 2.0 (Day 14). Ofatumumab was well tolerated.
Conclusion:
Ofatumumab 20 mg q4w self-administered subcutaneously via autoinjector is bioequivalent to PFS administration and provides rapid B-cell depletion.
