AbbVie's Persistent Pursuit of a Revolutionary Parkinson's Treatment: Navigating FDA Challenges and Industry Competition

2024-06-28

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After being rejected by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) over a year ago, the world's leading biopharmaceutical company AbbVie did not give up, but instead tried to launch a revolutionary Parkinson's disease drug, ABBV-951, again, aiming to provide patients with a more convenient treatment option to replace their current carbidopa and levodopa formulation. However, the FDA's rejection has brought new challenges and tests for AbbVie.

The FDA's complete response letter (CRL) detailed the observations made during the inspection of third-party manufacturers for AbbVie's drug application. Although AbbVie stressed that these factories' inspections did not involve ABBV-951 or any of AbbVie's drugs, the FDA's decision undoubtedly cast a shadow over this highly anticipated new drug.

AbbVie's forward-looking therapy is a combination of foscarbidopa and foslevodopa, which are the precursors of carbidopa and levodopa, respectively, included in AbbVie's Parkinson's treatment drug Duopa, approved in 2015. Precursors, as a special form of drugs, enter the body and are converted into active drug components once inside. This design aims to improve the drug's bioavailability and reduce side effects, providing better treatment outcomes for patients. Despite the FDA's rejection, which left AbbVie deeply disappointed, the company has not given up on its collaboration with the FDA and continues to advance the development of ABBV-951. AbbVie Senior Vice President and Global Therapy Chief Medical Officer Dr. Roopal Thakkar stated in a statement, "We will continue to work closely with the FDA to address the current issues and strive to bring ABBV-951 to market as soon as possible."

The FDA's rejection did not involve the safety, effectiveness, or labeling issues of ABBV-951, including the drug's subcutaneous pump device. In the past, this device did give some pharmaceutical companies trouble, but AbbVie has conducted thorough research and validation to ensure its safety and effectiveness.

Last March, ABBV-951 was rejected by the FDA for the first time, due to the need for additional information about the candidate drug's delivery device. However, AbbVie did not give up, but instead made comprehensive improvements and supplements in response to the FDA's requirements. Today, ABBV-951 is delivered through a pump under the skin, providing patients with a more convenient and comfortable treatment option.

Evercore ISI analysts have high hopes for ABBV-951 and praised it as one of AbbVie's "biggest new products to launch in the next one to two years." Analysts believe that ABBV-951's design is intended to provide convenience advantages over Duopa, which has been on the market for nearly a decade in a gel form and must be administered via a feeding tube. This new method of drug delivery will greatly reduce the burden on patients and improve their quality of life. However, AbbVie stated in its press conference on Tuesday that it would not conduct any additional efficacy or safety trials for the candidate drug or its delivery device. This decision has drawn widespread attention from the industry, but AbbVie's confidence and determination in its products has not wavered.

Wall Street analysts had previously estimated that ABBV-951's peak sales could reach $1 billion, but the Evercore team said last year that they "would not be surprised" if the drug ultimately exceeded the $2 billion mark. This is enough to demonstrate the industry's expectations and confidence in ABBV-951.

Meanwhile, AbbVie's Parkinson's disease prodrug combination is also facing challenges from competitors. Mitsubishi Tanabe Pharma's nd-0612 is also a continuous subcutaneous infusion of liquid levodopa and carbidopa, and the Japanese company acquired NeuroDerm for $1.1 billion in 2017. However, Mitsubishi Tanabe revealed in a recent filing that nd-0612 had also been subject to an FDA CRL attack earlier this month. The details behind the rejection are scarce, but the company said it would review the complete response and work with the FDA to address the regulator's concerns.

In other areas, the pump-based therapy has also posed problems for other pharmaceutical companies developing Parkinson's disease drugs. For example, in April this year, Supernus' SPN-830 application was rejected for the third time due to product quality and syringe master file issues. These problems indicate that while new modes of administration offer convenience and comfort to patients, they also bring new challenges and tests.

Although AbbVie encountered setbacks in the development of ABBV-951, the company has not given up its exploration and innovation in Parkinson's disease treatment. AbbVie will continue to work with the FDA to advance the development and marketing of ABBV-951, bringing better treatment outcomes and quality of life to patients. At the same time, AbbVie will also keep track of its competitors' dynamics and market changes, continuously adjust and optimize its product line to maintain its leading position in Parkinson's disease treatment.