Halozyme Therapeutics, Inc. announced the approval of Roche's Tecentriq® SC (atezolizumab), using Halozyme's ENHANZE® drug delivery technology, by the Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) in Great Britain. Tecentriq® subcutaneous (SC) is co-formulated with Halozyme's proprietary recombinant human hyaluronidase enzyme, rHuPH20, allowing for subcutaneous delivery, which takes approximately seven minutes, compared with 30-60 minutes for intravenous (IV) infusion. Tecentriq® SC will be available to patients in Great Britain for certain types of lung, bladder, breast, and liver cancer.7
Multiple oncology studies suggest that most cancer patients prefer to receive their treatments via subcutaneous delivery, instead of intravenous infusion because of reduced discomfort, ease of administration, and shorter duration of treatment.2,4,11
"We are delighted that Roche has received approval of Tecentriq SC in Great Britain. Subcutaneous delivery of Tecentriq provides cancer patients a faster and more flexible treatment option and may alleviate pressure on healthcare system resources," said Dr. Helen Torley, president and chief executive officer of Halozyme. "We look forward to additional regulatory approvals of our partner products utilizing ENHANZE."
Tecentriq® SC is the first subcutaneous anti-PD-(L)1 cancer immunotherapy available to patients in Great Britain and is Roche's fourth subcutaneous cancer therapy using Halozyme's ENHANZE® drug delivery technology.8-10 The approval is based on clinical data from the Phase IB/III IMscin001 study, which showed comparable levels of Tecentriq® in the blood when administered subcutaneously, and a safety and efficacy profile consistent with the IV formulation.12 While the IMscin001 trial was conducted within the hospital setting, the SC formulation may be suitable for out-of-hospital administration by a healthcare professional.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is currently evaluating Tecentriq® SC for regulatory approval.
About Halozyme
Halozyme is a biopharmaceutical company bringing disruptive solutions to significantly improve patient experiences and outcomes for emerging and established therapies. As the innovators of the ENHANZE® technology with the proprietary enzyme rHuPH20, Halozyme's commercially-validated solution is used to facilitate the delivery of injected drugs and fluids in order to reduce the treatment burden to patients. Having touched more than 700,000 patient lives in post-marketing use in six commercialized products across more than 100 global markets, Halozyme has licensed its ENHANZE® technology to leading pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies including Roche, Takeda, Pfizer, AbbVie, Eli Lilly, Bristol-Myers Squibb, Alexion, argenx, Horizon Therapeutics, ViiV Healthcare and Chugai Pharmaceutical.
Halozyme also develops, manufactures and commercializes, for itself or with partners, drug-device combination products using its advanced auto-injector technology that are designed to provide commercial or functional advantages such as improved convenience and tolerability, and enhanced patient comfort and adherence. The Company has a commercial portfolio of proprietary products including XYOSTED®, TLANDO® and NOCDURNA® and partnered commercial products and ongoing product development programs with several pharmaceutical companies including Teva Pharmaceuticals and Idorsia Pharmaceuticals.