AbbVie announced that the EMA and the FDA have granted orphan drug status to its investigational compound ABT-414, an anti-epidermal growth factor receptor antibody drug conjugate. It is currently being evaluated for safety and efficacy in patients with glioblastoma multiforme. Glioblastoma multiforme is the most common and most aggressive type of malignant primary brain tumor. Each year in the United States and Europe, two to three out of every 100,000 people are diagnosed with glioblastoma multiforme, which has a five-year survival rate of approximately 4 percent.
"The orphan drug designation is an important regulatory advancement as we further our development in recurrent glioblastoma multiforme, a disease that is uniformly fatal with limited treatment options," said Gary Gordon, M.D., vice president, oncology clinical development, AbbVie. "We are pleased to continue developing ABT-414 in Phase II trials in patients with glioblastoma multiforme based on the results of our Phase I program." Read the press release