Pharmacotherapeutic group: Bile and liver therapy, other drugs for bile therapy, ATC code: A05AX05
Mechanism of action
Odevixibat is a reversible, potent, selective inhibitor of the ileal bile acid transporter (IBAT).
Pharmacodynamic effects
Odevixibat acts locally in the distal ileum to decrease the reuptake of bile acids and increase the clearance of bile acids through the colon, reducing the concentration of bile acids in the serum. The extent of reduction of serum bile acids does not correlate with systemic PK.
Clinical efficacy
Clinical trials in PFIC
The efficacy of Bylvay in patients with PFIC was evaluated in two phase 3 trials. Trial 1 (Study A4250-005) was a 24‑week, randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial conducted in 62 patients with a confirmed diagnosis of PFIC Type 1 or Type 2. Patients were randomised 1:1:1 to placebo, or 40 or 120 mcg/kg/day odevixibat and stratified by PFIC Type (1 or 2) and age (6 months to 5 years, 6 to 12 years, and 13 to ≤ 18 years). Patients with pathologic variations of the ABCB11 gene that predict complete absence of the BSEP protein and those with ALT > 10 × ULN or bilirubin > 10 × ULN were excluded. 13% of the patients had prior biliary diversion surgery. Patients completing Trial 1 were eligible to enrol in Trial 2 (Study A4250-008), a 72‑week open-label extension trial. In total, 116 patients were enrolled in Trial 2, including 37 patients who received odevixibat in Trial 1 and 79 patients who were treatment naïve. Results were analysied for Trial 1, and polled for Trials 1 and 2, representing 96 weeks of treatment for patients that completed treatment with odevixibat in both trials.
The primary endpoint in Trial 1 and Trial 2 was the proportion of patients with at least a 70% reduction in fasting serum bile acid levels or who achieved a level ≤ 70 µmol/L at week 24.
The proportion of positive pruritus assessments at the patient level over the 24-week treatment period based on an observer-reported outcome (ObsRO) instrument was a secondary endpoint. A positive pruritus assessment was a score of ≤ 1 or at least 1-point improvement from baseline. Pruritus assessments were conducted in the morning and evening using a 5-point scale (0-4). Additional secondary endpoints included changes from baseline to end of treatment in growth, sleep parameters (per ObsRO) and ALT.
Median (range) age of patients in Trial 1 was 3.2 (0.5 to 15.9) years; 50% were male and 84% were white. 27% of patients had PFIC Type 1 and 73% had PFIC Type 2. At baseline, 81% of patients were treated with UDCA, 66% with rifampicin, and 89% with UDCA and/or rifampicin. Baseline hepatic impairment per Child-Pugh classification was mild in 66% and moderate in 34% of patients. Baseline mean (SD) eGFR was 164 (30.6) mL/min/1.73 m². Baseline mean (SD) ALT, AST and bilirubin levels were 99 (116.8) U/L, 101 (69.8) U/L, and 3.2 (3.57) mg/dL, respectively. Baseline mean (SD) pruritus score (range: 0-4) and serum bile acids levels were similar in odevixibat-treated patients (2.9 [0.089] and 252.1 [103.0] µmol/L, respectively) and placebo-treated patients (3.0 [0.143] and 247.5 [101.1] µmol/L, respectively). Demographic and baseline characteristics of the pooled phase 3 population were generally consistent with the study A4250-005 population. 36 (30%) of patients had PFIC Type 1 (70, 58%) had PFIC Type 2; 7 (6%) had PFIC Type 3, 4 (3%) had the episodic form of PFIC, and 2 (2%) each had PFIC Type 4 and PFIC Type 6.
Table 4 presents the results of the comparison of the key efficacy results in Trial 1 between odevixibat and placebo. These data are displayed graphically over the 24-week treatment period in Figure 1 (serum bile acids) and Figure 2 (scratching scores).
Table 4: Comparison of key efficacy results for odevixibat vs. placebo over the 24-week treatment period in patients with PFIC in trial 1
| Efficacy endpoint | Placebo (N=20) | Odevixibat |
| 40 mcg/kg/day (N=23) | 120 mcg/kg/day (N=19) | Total (N=42) |
| Proportion of patients with reduction in serum bile acids at end of treatment (respondersa) |
| n (%) (95% CI) | 0 (0.00, 16.84) | 10 (43.5) (23.19, 65.51) | 4 (21.1) (6.05, 45.57) | 14 (33.3) (19.57, 49.55) |
| Difference in proportion vs. placebo (95% CI) | | 0.44 (0.22, 0.66) | 0.21 (0.02, 0.46) | 0.33 (0.09, 0.50) |
| One-sided p-valueb | | 0.0015 | 0.0174 | 0.0015 |
| Proportion of positive pruritus assessments over the treatment period |
| Proportion | 28.74 | 58.31 | 47.69 | 53.51 |
| Difference in proportion (SE) vs. placebo (95% CI)c | | 28.23 (9.18) (9.83, 46.64) | 21.71 (9.89) (1.87, 41.54) | 24.97 (8.24) (8.45, 41.49) |
a Responders were defined as at least a 70% reduction in serum bile acids concentration from baseline or reaching a level ≤ 70 µmol/L.
b Based on Cochran Mantel Haenszel test stratified by PFIC Type. P-values for the dose groups are adjusted for multiplicity.
c Based on least squares means from an analysis of covariance model with daytime and night-time baseline pruritus scores as covariates and treatment group and stratification factors (PFIC Type and age category) as fixed effects.
Figure 1: Mean (±SE) change from baseline in serum bile acid concentration (µmol/L) over time

Figure 2: Mean (±SE) change from baseline in pruritus (scratching) severity score over time

In line with the results for reduction of pruritus (scratching), odevixibat reduced the percentage of days the patient required soothing, and patients less often required help falling asleep and had fewer days needing to sleep with a caregiver. Treatment with odevixibat also led to improvements from baseline in liver function test results (Table 5). The effect of odevixibat on growth parameters over 24 weeks is also presented.
Table 5: Comparison of efficacy results for growth and hepatic biochemical parameters for odevixibat vs. placebo over the 24-week treatment period in patients with PFIC in trial 1
| Efficacy endpoint | Placebo (N=20) | Odevixibat |
| 40 mcg/kg/day (N=23) | 120 mcg/kg/day (N=19) | Total (N=42) |
| Alanine aminotransferase (U/L) (mean [SE]) |
| Baseline | 76.9 (12.57) | 127.7 (34.57) | 89.1 (19.95) | 110.2 (20.96) |
| Change to Week 24 | 3.7 (4.95) | -27.9 (17.97) | -25.3 (22.47) | -26.7 (13.98) |
| Mean difference vs. placebo (95% CI)a | | -14.8 (16.63) (‑48.3, 18.7) | -14.9 (17.25) (‑49.6, 19.9) | -14.8 (15.05) (‑45.1, 15.4) |
| Aspartate aminotransferase (U/L) (mean [SE]) |
| Baseline | 90.2 (11.59) | 114.2 (17.24) | 96.0 (16.13) | 106.0 (11.87) |
| Change to Week 24 | 4.7 (5.84) | -36.7 (12.21) | -27.0 (19.42) | -32.1 (11.02) |
| Total bilirubin (µmol/L) (mean [SE]) |
| Baseline | 53.3 (12.97) | 52.2 (10.13) | 57.0 (18.05) | 54.4 (9.75) |
| Change to Week 24 | -9.6 (15.16) | -23.7 (9.23) | -19.3 (13.62) | -21.7 (7.92) |
| Height z-scores (mean [SE]) |
| Baseline | -2.26 (0.34) | -1.45 (0.27) | -2.09 (0.37) | -1.74 (0.23) |
| Change to Week 24 | -0.16 (0.10) | 0.05 (0.11) | 0.00 (0.16) | 0.03 (0.09) |
| Mean difference vs. placebo (95% CI)a | | 0.32 (0.16) (0.00, 0.65) | 0.15 (0.17) (‑0.18, 0.48) | 0.24 (0.14) (‑0.05, 0.53) |
| Weight z-scores (mean [SE]) |
| Baseline | -1.52 (0.32) | -0.74 (0.27) | ‑1.19 (0.35) | ‑0.94 (0.21) |
| Change to Week 24 | 0.10 (0.10) | 0.29 (0.11) | 0.15 (0.12) | 0.22 (0.08) |
| Mean difference vs. placebo (95% CI)a | | 0.28 (0.14) (‑0.01, 0.57) | 0.08 (0.15) (‑0.22, 0.37) | 0.18 (0.13) (‑0.08, 0.44) |
aBased on least squares means from a mixed model for repeated measures (MMRM) with baseline value as a covariate, and treatment group, visit, treatment-by-visit interaction, treatment-by-baseline interaction and stratification factors (PFIC type and age category) as fixed effects.
In the pooled phase 3 analysis, median duration of exposure across the 121 patients having received at least one dose of odevixibat was 102.0 weeks. 87 (72%) of the 121 patients received ≥72 weeks of treatment with odevixibat.
At week 24, 36% of patients were serum bile acids responders (N=112); this effect was sustained at week 72 when 44% were serum bile acids responders (N=85). Pruritus scores improved in a consistent fashion by 63.5% at week 24 (N=102) and 72.3%, at week 72 (N=76).
The rate of serum bile acid responders at week 72 for patients with PFIC1 was 25% (7 of 28 patients), 49% (22 of 45) for PFIC2 and 67% (8 of 12) for patients with other types of PFIC. Positive pruritus assessments at the patient level over 72 weeks was similar in patients with PFIC1 (n=24) and PFIC2 (n=43), with response rates of 69% and 70%, respectively. In the subgroup of patients with other types of PFIC (PFIC3, PFIC4, PFIC6 and episodic PFIC, n=9) 91% were responders.
Mean (SD) changes from baseline at week 72 in ALT, AST, and total bilirubin in the pooled phase 3 group were -25.88 (119.18) U/L (n=78), -9.38 (69.279) U/L (N=79), and -25.65 (120.708) µmol/L (1.50 mg/dL) (n=79), respectively. Results for GGT were variable. Consistent and substantial improvement in growth was observed during longer term treatment with odevixibat. Mean height and weight z-scores improved to -1.26 and -0.75 at week 72, respectively, representing mean (SD) changes of 0.44 (0.705) (n=76) and 0.42 (0.762) (n=77), respectively.
Clinical trials in ALGS
The efficacy of Bylvay in patients with ALGS was evaluated in two phase 3 trials. ALGS Trial 1 (Study A4250-012) was a 24-week, randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial conducted in 52 patients with a confirmed diagnosis of ALGS. Patients were randomised 2:1 to 120 mcg/kg/day odevixibat or placebo and stratified by age at randomisation (< 10 years and ≥ 10 to < 18 years). Patients whose ALT was > 10 × ULN or total bilirubin > 15 × ULN at screening were excluded in ALGS Trial 1. Patients who completed ALGS Trial 1 were eligible to enrol in ALGS Trial 2 (Study A4250-015), a 72-week open-label extension trial. Results were analysed for Trial 1, and polled for Trials 1 and 2, representing 96 weeks of treatment for patients that completed treatment with odevixibat in both trials.
The primary endpoint in ALGS Trial 1 was change in scratching severity score from baseline to Month 6 (Weeks 21 to 24) based on the worst scratching score using an ObsRO instrument. Scratching was assessed once in the morning and once in the evening using a 5-point scale (0-4).
Change in serum bile acid levels from baseline to the average of Weeks 20 and 24 was the key secondary endpoint. Additional secondary endpoints included change from baseline to end of treatment in sleep parameters (assessed using a 5-point scale (0-4)), total cholesterol concentration and clinician assessment of xanthomas.
Median age (range) of the patients in ALGS Trial 1 was 5.45 (0.5 to 15.5) years; 51.9% were male and 82.7% were white. 92.3% of patients had the JAG1 mutation and 7.7% had the NOTCH2 mutation. At baseline, 98.1% of patients were treated with concomitant anti-pruritic medications, including UDCA (88.5%). Overall, 51 (98.1%) of the 52 patients had moderate hepatic impairment and 1 (1.9%) (placebo group) had severe hepatic impairment based on the Child-Pugh classification. Baseline mean (SD) eGFR was 158.65 (51.437) mL/min/1.73 m2. Baseline mean (SD) ALT, AST, and total bilirubin were 173.7 (84.48) U/L, 167.0 (83.22) U/L, and 55.14 (47.911) µmol/L, respectively. Baseline mean (SD) scratching score (range: 0-4) and serum bile acids levels were similar in odevixibat-treated patients (2.80 [0.520] and 237.4 [114.88] µmol/L, respectively) and placebo-treated patients (3.01 [0.636] and 246.1 [120.53] µmol/L, respectively).
Table 6 presents the results of the change from baseline in average scratching score based on the ObsRO assessments to Month 6 (Weeks 21 to 24) and results of the change from baseline in serum bile acids to the average of Weeks 20 and 24.
Tablet 6: comparison of key afficacy results for odevixibat vs. placebo over the 24-week traeatment period
| | Placebo (N=17) | Odevixibat 120 mcg/kg/day (N=35) |
| Change from baseline in average scratching score to Month 6 (Weeks 21 to 24) of treatment |
| LS Mean (SE)a | -0.80 (0.233) | -1.69 (0.174) |
| LS Mean difference vs. placebo (95% CI)a One-sided p-valuea | | -0.88 (-1.44, -0.33) 0.0012 |
| Change from baseline in serum bile acid concentration (µmol/L) to the average of Weeks 20 and 24 of treatment |
| LS Mean (SE)a | 22.39 (28.463) | -90.35 (21.336) |
| LS Mean difference vs. placebo (95% CI)a One-sided p‑valuea | | -112.74 (-178.78, -46.69) 0.0006 |
LS Mean = Least Squares Means
aThe analyses are based on mixed-model effect repeated measures (MMRM) with baseline scratching score or baseline serum bile acid concentration (as applicable for the endpoint) as a covariate, and baseline age stratification (< 10, ≥ 10 years), baseline direct bilirubin (scratching score only), treatment group, time (months/visits), and treatment‑by‑time interaction as fixed effects.
Figures 3 and 4 display graphically the mean changes (SE) from baseline of patients' average scratching scores in each treatment group for each week and patients' serum bile acid levels in each treatment group for each month, respectively.
Figure 3: Mean (± SE) change from baseline in pruritus (scratching) severity score over time (ALGS Trial 1)42

Figure 4: Mean (± SE) change from baseline in serum bile acid concentration (µmol/L) over time (ALGS Trial 1)

Consistent with the results for improvement in pruritus (scratching) severity, odevixibat led to improvements in multiple sleep parameters. Figure 5 displays graphically the mean changes (SE) from baseline for improvement in two of the sleep parameters by treatment group for each month, including percentage of days with help falling asleep and daytime tiredness score. Similar results were observed over time for percentage of days the child required soothing to go to sleep and the percentage of days the child slept with the caregiver.
Figure 5: Mean (±SE) change from baseline in sleep parameters over time (ALGS Trial 1)

Treatment with odevixibat led to mean improvement from baseline in serum cholesterol at Week 24.
Least square mean (SE) changes from baseline in cholesterol levels were ‑0.91 (0.551) mmol/L and +0.67 (0.761) mmol/L in the odevixibat and placebo groups, respectively, with an LS mean difference (95% CI) of -1.59 (-3.43, 0.25). Treatment with odevixibat improved autotaxin levels over time, and some improvement was also seen in xanthomas.
A total of 44 (85%) of the 52 patients who received odevixibat across the Phase 3 studies completed the 72-week treatment period in Trial 2. Median duration of odevixibat treatment for the 52 patients across the pooled phase 3 studies was 99.79 weeks and ranged up to 2.5 years. Overall, 45 (87%) of the 52 patients had received > 72 weeks of odevixibat with 32 (64%) having received > 96 weeks of treatment.
Continued treatment with odevixibat in ALGS Trial 2 led to further improvements in pruritus score with results for the pooled population at weeks 69-72 (n = 43) showing mean (SD) changes from baseline of -1.95 (0.838). For those 31 patients who received odevixibat in both Phase 3 studies and had data available for analysis, continued improvement was observed through Weeks 93-96 with mean (SD) change from baseline of -2.18 (0.876). The reduction in serum bile acid levels was maintained at week 72, when mean change from baseline was -119.4 µmol/L (-48.8 µg/mL; n = 44). Among those 30 patients who received odevixibat in both Phase 3 studies and had data available for analysis at week 96, change from baseline in serum bile acids levels was -123.9 µmol/L (-50.6 µg/mL).
Improvements is sleep parameters, serum cholesterol levels and xanthomas were maintained over long-term treatment.
Paediatric population
The European Medicines Agency has deferred the obligation to submit the results of studies with Bylvay in paediatric population less than 6 months; see section 4.2 for information on paediatric use.
Exceptional circumstances
This medicinal product has been authorised under 'Exceptional Circumstances'. This means that due to the rarity of the disease it has not been possible to obtain complete information on this medicinal product. The European Medicines Agency will review any new information which may become available every year and this SmPC will be updated as necessary.