2. UroToday Home
  3. Recent Abstracts
  4. Urologic Oncology
  5. Bladder Cancer

U.S. Food and Drug Administration Grants Full Approval for BALVERSA® to Treat Locally Advanced or Metastatic Bladder Cancer with Select Genetic Alterations

  • BALVERSA® is the First and Only Targeted Therapy for Patients with Locally Advanced or Metastatic Urothelial Carcinoma and Susceptible Fibroblast Growth Factor Receptor Alterations
  • Phase 3 THOR Study Showed a 36 Percent Reduction in the Risk of Death with BALVERSA® Versus Chemotherapy in Patients
  • Data were featured at the European Society for Medical Oncology (ESMO) 2023 Congress and in The New England Journal of Medicine
Reno, Nevada (UroToday.com) -- Johnson & Johnson announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved a supplemental New Drug Application (sNDA) for BALVERSA® (erdafitinib) for the treatment of adult patients with locally advanced or metastatic urothelial carcinoma (mUC) with susceptible fibroblast growth factor receptor 3 (FGFR3) genetic alterations whose disease has progressed on or after at least one line of prior systemic therapy. BALVERSA® is not recommended for the treatment of patients who are eligible for and have not received prior PD-1 or PD-L1 inhibitor therapy. This FDA action converts the April 2019 accelerated approval of BALVERSA® to a full approval based on the clinical and overall survival benefit observed in the Phase 3 THOR study. BALVERSA® is the first oral FGFR kinase inhibitor to be approved, and the first and only targeted treatment for patients with mUC and FGFR alterations.

Approximately 20 percent of patients with mUC have FGFR3 genetic alterations. After one or more lines of systemic therapy, including a checkpoint inhibitor, these patients generally have a poor prognosis with few available treatment options. This approval is based on results from Cohort 1 of the randomized, controlled, open-label, multicenter Phase 3 THOR study (NCT03390504) confirming the clinical benefit of BALVERSA® in extending overall survival (OS) compared to chemotherapy in the second-line setting. Results from the study showed a 36 percent reduction in the risk of death with BALVERSA® versus chemotherapy in patients previously treated with a PD-1 or PD-(L)1 inhibitor, with those in the BALVERSA® arm living a median of over four months longer (Hazard Ratio (HR) 0.64; [95 percent Confidence Interval (CI), 0.47-0.88]; p=0.0050).1

“Based on results from randomized Phase 3 data, BALVERSA continues to demonstrate the promise of targeted therapy in the treatment of patients with advanced bladder cancer,” said Kiran Patel, M.D., Vice President, Clinical Development, Solid Tumors, Johnson & Johnson Innovative Medicine. “This important milestone reinforces our commitment to advance innovative, precision therapies in oncology and confirm the role of targeted therapy in the treatment of bladder cancer.”
Warnings and Precautions in the U.S. Prescribing Information include ocular disorders, hyperphosphatemia and embryo-fetal toxicity. The most common (>20%) adverse reactions, including laboratory abnormalities, were increased phosphate, nail disorders, stomatitis, diarrhea, increased creatinine, increased alkaline phosphate, increased alanine aminotransferase, decreased hemoglobin, decreased sodium, increased aspartate aminotransferase, fatigue, dry mouth, dry skin, decreased phosphate, decreased appetite, dysgeusia, constipation, increased calcium, dry eye, palmar-plantar erythrodysesthesia syndrome, increased potassium, alopecia, and central serous retinopathy.2

Johnson & Johnson is offering BALVERSA® and associated patient services through a single-source specialty pharmacy provider, US Bioservices. This model is part of the Company’s ongoing commitment to provide high-quality products, services, access, and support to healthcare professionals and patients.

References:

  1. ASCO Publications. Phase 3 THOR study: Results of erdafitinib (erda) versus chemotherapy (chemo) in patients (pts) with advanced or metastatic urothelial cancer (mUC) with select fibroblast growth factor receptor alterations (FGFRalt). Available at: https://ascopubs.org/doi/10.1200/JCO.2023.41.17_suppl.LBA4619
  2. BALVERSA Prescribing Information.

Source: Johnson & Johnson. (2024). U.S. Food and Drug Administration Grants Full Approval for BALVERSA® to Treat Locally Advanced or Metastatic Bladder Cancer with Select Genetic Alterations [Press release]. https://www.jnj.com/u-s-food-and-drug-administration-grants-full-approval-for-balversa-to-treat-locally-advanced-or-metastatic-bladder-cancer-with-select-genetic-alterations#:~:text=RARITAN%2C%20N.J.%2C%20JANUARY%2019%2C,urothelial%20 carcinoma%20(mUC)%20with%20susceptible.