Pharmacotherapeutic group: Antineoplastic agents, protein kinase inhibitors. ATC code: L01EJ04
Mechanism of action
Momelotinib and its major human circulating metabolite (M21), are inhibitors of wild type Janus Kinase 1 and 2 (JAK1/JAK2) and mutant JAK2V617F, which contribute to signalling of a number of cytokines and growth factors that are important for haematopoiesis and immune function. JAK1 and JAK2 recruit and activate STAT (signal transducer and activator of transcription) proteins that control gene transcription impacting inflammation, haematopoiesis, and immune regulation. Myelofibrosis is a myeloproliferative neoplasm associated with constitutive activation and dysregulated JAK signalling that contributes to elevated inflammation and hyperactivation of activin A receptor type 1 (ACVR1), also known as activin receptor-like kinase 2 (ALK-2). Additionally, momelotinib and M21 are direct inhibitors of ACVR1, which further down regulates liver hepcidin expression resulting in increased iron availability and red blood cell production. Momelotinib and M21 potentially inhibit additional kinases, such as other JAK family members, inhibitor of κB kinase (IKK), interleukin-1 receptor-associated kinase 1 (IRAK1), and others.
Pharmacodynamic effects
Momelotinib inhibits cytokine-induced STAT3 phosphorylation in whole blood from patients with myelofibrosis and inhibits hepcidin. Maximal inhibition of STAT3 phosphorylation occurred 2 hours after momelotinib dosing with inhibition persisting for at least 6 hours. An acute and sustained reduction of circulating hepcidin was observed for the duration of the 24‑week study, associated with increased iron levels and haemoglobin, following administration of momelotinib to patients with myelofibrosis.
Clinical efficacy and safety
The efficacy of momelotinib in the treatment of patients with myelofibrosis was evaluated in two randomised Phase 3 trials, MOMENTUM and SIMPLIFY-1.
Myelofibrosis patients who have been treated with ruxolitinib
MOMENTUM was a double-blind, 2:1 randomised, active-controlled Phase 3 study in 195 symptomatic and anaemic patients with myelofibrosis who had previously received a JAK inhibitor. All patients had received ruxolitinib and 4.6% of patients had also received fedratinib; prior JAK inhibitor treatment was for ≥ 90 days or ≥ 28 days if therapy was interrupted by the need for red blood cell transfusions or due to Grade 3 or 4 thrombocytopenia, anaemia, or haematoma. Patients were treated with Omjjara 200 mg once daily or danazol 300 mg twice daily for 24 weeks, followed by open-label treatment with Omjjara. The two primary efficacy endpoints were percentage of patients with total symptom score (TSS) reduction of 50% or greater from baseline to week 24 (as measured by the Myelofibrosis Symptom Assessment Form [MFSAF] v4.0), and the percentage of patients who were transfusion independent (TI) at week 24 (defined as no transfusions and all haemoglobin values ≥8 g/dL in the 12 weeks prior to week 24). A key secondary endpoint measured the percentage of subjects with ≥35% reduction in spleen volume from baseline at week 24.
Per eligibility criteria, patients were symptomatic with a MFSAF TSS of ≥10 points at screening (mean MFSAF TSS 27 at baseline), and anaemic with haemoglobin (Hgb) values <10 g/dL. The MFSAF daily diary captured the core symptoms of MF: night sweats, abdominal discomfort, pain under the left rib, fatigue, early satiety, pruritus, and bone pain. The inactivity item was excluded from the TSS calculation. Each of the symptoms of the MFSAF v.4.0 were measured on a scale of 0 (absent) to 10 (worst imaginable). Eligible patients were also required to have an enlarged spleen at baseline and a minimum baseline platelet count of 25 × 109/L.
Patients had received prior JAK inhibitor therapy for a median duration of 99 weeks. The median age was 71 years (range 38 to 86 years); 79% were 65 years or older, and 31% were aged 75 years or older, and 63% were male. Sixty-four percent (64%) of patients had primary myelofibrosis, 19% had post-PV myelofibrosis, and 17% had post-ET myelofibrosis. Five percent (5%) of patients had intermediate-1 risk, and 57% had intermediate-2 risk, and 35% had high-risk disease, determined by the Dynamic International Prognostic Scoring System (DIPSS). Sixteen percent (16%) of patients had severe thrombocytopenia (defined as platelet values of less than 50 × 109/L). Forty-eight percent (48%) of patients had severe anaemia (defined as baseline Hgb values <8 g/dL). Within the 8 weeks prior to enrolment, 79% had red blood cell transfusions. At baseline, 13% and 15% of patients treated with Omjjara and danazol, respectively, were transfusion independent (no transfusions and all haemoglobin values ≥8 g/dL in the 12 weeks prior to dosing). The baseline median Hgb value was 8.0 g/dL (range 3.8 g/dL to 10.7 g/dL), and the median platelet count was 96 × 109/L (range 24 × 109/L to 733 × 109/L). The baseline median palpable spleen length was 11.0 cm below the left costal margin; the median spleen volume (measured by magnetic resonance imaging [MRI] or computed tomography [CT])] was 2105 cm3 (range 609 to 9717 cm3).
At week 24, a significantly higher percentage of patients treated with Omjjara achieved a TSS reduction of 50% or greater from baseline (superiority, one of the primary endpoints) and a spleen volume reduction by 35% or greater from baseline (superiority, one of the secondary endpoints) (table 3).
Table 3: Percent of patients achieving symptom reduction and spleen volume reduction at week 24 (MOMENTUM)
| | Omjjara n = 130 | Danazol n = 65 |
| Patients with TSS reduction of 50% or greater, n (%) Treatment differencea (95% CI) p-value (superiority) | 32 (25%) | 6 (9%) |
| 16% (6, 26) 0.0095 |
| Patients with spleen volume reduction by 35% or greater, n (%) Treatment differencea (95% CI) p-value (superiority) | 29 (22%) | 2 (3%) |
| 18% (10, 27) 0.0011 |
TSS = total symptom score; CI = confidence interval.
a Superiority based on a stratified Cochran‑Mantel‑Haenszel test.
A numerically higher percent of patients treated with Omjjara (30%; 39/130) achieved transfusion independence (defined as no transfusions and all Hgb values ≥8 g/dL in the 12 weeks prior to week 24) compared with 20% (13/65) for danazol at week 24.
Myelofibrosis patients who are JAK inhibitor naïve
SIMPLIFY-1 was a double-blind, randomised, active-controlled study in 432 patients with myelofibrosis who had not previously received a JAK inhibitor. Post-hoc analyses were conducted in a subgroup of 181 patients with moderate to severe anaemia (Hgb <10 g/dL). The baseline characteristics and efficacy results are provided for this subgroup.
In the overall population, the primary efficacy endpoint was percentage of patients with spleen volume response (reduction by 35% or greater) at week 24. Secondary endpoints included modified Myeloproliferative Neoplasm Symptom Assessment Form (MPN-SAF) TSS response rate at week 24 (defined as the percentage of patients with TSS reduction of 50% or greater from baseline to week 24) and transfusion independence at week 24 (defined as no transfusions and all Hgb values ≥8 g/dL in the 12 weeks prior to week 24).
Per eligibility criteria, patient TSS response was measured by the modified MPN-SAF v2.0 diary (mean MPN-SAF TSS 19 at baseline). The inactivity item was excluded from the TSS calculation. Eligible patients were also required to have an enlarged spleen at baseline and a minimum baseline platelet count of 50 × 109/L.
In the anaemic subgroup, the median age was 68 years (range 25 to 86 years) with 67% of patients older than 65 years, and 19% were aged 75 years or older, and 59% male. Sixty-three percent (63%) of patients had primary myelofibrosis, 13% had post-PV myelofibrosis, and 24% had post-ET myelofibrosis. Four percent (4%) of patients had intermediate-1 risk, and 25% had intermediate-2 risk, and 71% had high-risk disease, determined by the International Prognostic Scoring System (IPSS). In this study, 42% of patients had moderate to severe anaemia (defined as baseline Hgb values <10 g/dL). Within the 8 weeks prior to enrolment, 55% of patients had red blood cell transfusions. At baseline, 29% and 44% of patients treated with Omjjara and ruxolitinib, respectively, were transfusion independent (no transfusions and all haemoglobin values ≥8 g/dL in the 12 weeks prior to dosing). The baseline median Hgb value was 8.8 g/dL (range 6 g/dL to 10 g/dL), and the median platelet count was 193 × 109/L at baseline (range 54 × 109/L to 2865 × 109/L). The baseline median palpable spleen length was 12.0 cm below the left costal margin; the median spleen volume (measured by MRI or CT) was 1843 cm3 (range 352 to 9022 cm3). The baseline characteristics of the overall population were similar to the anaemic subgroup, with the exception of anaemia severity and transfusion requirements.
Patients were treated with Omjjara 200 mg daily or ruxolitinib adjusted dose twice daily for 24 weeks, followed by open-label treatment with Omjjara without tapering of ruxolitinib. The efficacy of Omjjara in SIMPLIFY-1 was based on post‑hoc analysis of spleen volume response (reduction by 35% or greater) in the subgroup of patients with anaemia (Hgb values <10 g/dL) (table 4). In this subgroup, a numerically lower percent of patients treated with Omjjara (25%) achieved a TSS reduction of 50% or greater at week 24 compared with ruxolitinib (36%).
Table 4: Percent of patients achieving spleen volume reduction at week 24 in the anaemic subgroup (SIMPLIFY-1)
| | Omjjara n = 86 | Ruxolitinib n = 95 |
| Patients with spleen volume reduction by 35% or greater, n (%) (95% CI) | 27 (31%) (22, 42) | 31 (33%) (23, 43) |
In the overall population, the percent of patients achieving 35% or greater reduction from baseline in spleen volume (non‑inferiority, primary endpoint) at week 24 was 27% for Omjjara and 29% for ruxolitinib (treatment difference 9%; 95% CI: 2, 16, p‑value: 0.014).
Paediatric population
The European Medicines Agency has waived the obligation to submit the results of studies with Omjjara in all subsets of the paediatric population in the treatment of myelofibrosis (see 4.2 for information on paediatric use).