Roche bags FDA approval of Xofluza (baloxavir marboxil) for treatment of acute, uncomplicated influenza

US: Roche today announced that the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved a supplemental New Drug Application (sNDA) for XofluzaTM (baloxavir marboxil) for the treatment of acute, uncomplicated influenza, or flu, in people 12 years of age and older who have been symptomatic for no more than 48 hours and who are at high risk of developing flu-related complications. Xofluza is a first-in-class, one-dose oral medicine with a novel proposed mechanism of action that inhibits polymerase acidic endonuclease, an enzyme essential for viral replication.

Single-dose Xofluza is the first and only antiviral medicine indicated specifically for patients at high risk of developing serious complications from influenza (flu)

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) defines people at high risk of serious flu complications as those who have conditions such as asthma, chronic lung disease, diabetes, heart disease or morbid obesity, or adults 65 years of age or older

“With flu season rapidly approaching, we can now offer Xofluza as the first and only FDA-approved treatment option indicated specifically for those at high risk of flu complications,” said Levi Garraway, M.D., Ph.D., Roche’s Chief Medical Officer and Head of Global Product Development. “People with chronic conditions such as asthma, heart disease and diabetes are at higher risk of developing serious complications from flu, so it is critical that these patients speak with their healthcare providers about possible treatment at the first signs and symptoms of the disease.”

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Flu has the potential to cause a variety of complications, ranging from sinus or ear infections to more serious complications such as pneumonia.4 This expanded indication for Xofluza was approved based on results from the phase III CAPSTONE-2 study of a single dose of 40mg or 80mg of Xofluza compared to oseltamivir (75mg twice daily for five days), or placebo in people 12 years of age or older who met CDC criteria for being at high risk of complications from flu.1,5 Xofluza significantly reduced the time to improvement of flu symptoms compared to placebo, including in people infected with the flu type B virus. Adverse events reported in at least 1% of adult and adolescent subjects treated with Xofluza included diarrhoea (3%), bronchitis (3%), nausea (2%), sinusitis (2%) and headache (1%).5

Xofluza is currently approved in several countries for the treatment of influenza types A and B. In October 2018, Xofluza was first approved by the FDA for the treatment of acute, uncomplicated flu in otherwise healthy people 12 years of age and older who have been symptomatic for no more than 48 hours, representing the first new antiviral to treat influenza in the United States in 20 years.

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