Jazz Pharmaceuticals plc (Nasdaq: JAZZ) today announced the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has accepted the supplemental New Drug Application (sNDA) for Zepzelca® (lurbinectedin) in combination with atezolizumab (Tecentriq®) as a first-line maintenance treatment for people with extensive-stage small cell lung cancer (ES-SCLC) whose disease has not progressed after first-line induction therapy with atezolizumab, carboplatin, and etoposide for Priority Review, with a Prescription Drug User Fee Act (PDUFA) action date of October 7, 2025. Priority Review is granted to applications for drugs that have the potential to significantly improve the treatment, prevention, or diagnosis of serious conditions. 

"The FDA's Priority Review designation for Zepzelca in combination with atezolizumab as a first-line maintenance treatment highlights the urgent need for new approaches and the potential benefit of Zepzelca for patients with extensive-stage small cell lung cancer, a disease with limited therapeutic options and high unmet need," said Rob Iannone, M.D., M.S.C.E., executive vice president, global head of research and development, and chief medical officer of Jazz Pharmaceuticals. "We are pleased to have received this review designation after presenting the IMforte trial data at ASCO 2025 with simultaneous publication in The Lancet. Together, these milestones bring us a step closer to potentially offering patients a new first-line maintenance option that could help extend the time they live without their disease progressing."

The sNDA submission is based on results from the Phase 3 IMforte trial of Zepzelca in combination with atezolizumab, which met both primary endpoints, demonstrating statistically significant improvements in progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS) compared to atezolizumab alone. Following induction therapy with carboplatin, etoposide and atezolizumab, patients who did not have disease progression were randomized to receive Zepzelca plus atezolizumab or atezolizumab alone. From the point of randomization, which occurred after patients completed the induction phase of four cycles of platinum-based chemotherapy plus atezolizumab, the median PFS was 5.4 months for the Zepzelca plus atezolizumab combination versus 2.1 months for atezolizumab alone (stratified HR = 0.54, 95% CI: 0.43–0.67; p < 0.0001), and median OS was 13.2 months versus 10.6 months (stratified hazard ratio [HR] = 0.73; 95% CI: 0.57–0.95; p = 0.0174). The combination reduced the risk of disease progression or death by 46% and the risk of death by 27% compared to atezolizumab alone. The Zepzelca plus atezolizumab combination had no new or unexpected safety signals.

Source: prnewswire.com