Principia Biopharma

The IPPF has published a white paper focusing on the urgent needs of pemphigus patients.

March 16, 2021
The IPPF is excited to announce the publication of a white paper, “Elevating Awareness of the Pressing Needs of the Pemphigus Community.” This paper is in response to the results of a Patient Forum held as part of our Virtual Patient Education Conference last October. The Patient Forum was sponsored by Principia Biopharma, a Sanofi Company, and brought together pemphigus patients, caregivers, patient influencers, healthcare professionals, thought leaders, and advocates to discuss the most important disease-related topics affecting the pemphigus community. The white paper discusses the consensus reached by the speakers and panelists related to the most urgent needs of pemphigus patients. It also includes decisive calls to action.

During the Patient Forum, panelists discussed their experiences with delayed diagnoses and the physical, mental, and financial impact of pemphigus. The consequences of a delayed diagnosis to a patient’s health and well-being can be significant, therefore the speed and accuracy of diagnosis must be improved. Speakers discussed the high dosage use of corticosteroids and limited treatment options for pemphigus, which makes it clear that new treatment options are needed. In response to the need for new treatments, scientists in academia and the biopharmaceutical industry are currently working to refine and expand treatment options that are more tolerable and targeted.

Based on the urgent needs discussed during the Patient Forum, the panelists and speakers agreed on the following calls to action:

Elevate awareness of pemphigus and the patient journey and perspective among key audiences, including clinicians, thought leaders, government agencies, and lawmakers, among others.
Increase awareness of ongoing clinical trials of promising investigational candidates to improve participation in trials, with the goal of developing more effective and well tolerated treatments for pemphigus.
Improve affordability of and access to therapies.

The white paper provides an in-depth analysis of the challenges facing pemphigus patients during both diagnosis and treatment.

Access the Paper

On March 2, 2019, Principia Biopharma Inc., a late-stage biopharmaceutical company dedicated to bringing transformative oral therapies to patients with significant unmet medical needs in immunology and oncology, today announced Phase 2 clinical data from the Believe-PV study for PRN1008 as part of the Late-breaking Research: Clinical Trials program at the American Academy of Dermatology (AAD) annual meeting in Washington D.C. PRN1008 is being developed for the potential treatment of pemphigus, including pemphigus vulgaris (PV) and pemphigus foliaceus (PF). Confirming interim clinical results previously reported, the Phase 2 study reached the primary efficacy measurement of control of disease activity (CDA) on low dose corticosteroids.

“The primary goal of treating patients with pemphigus is to control the disease and heal the skin, however a significant challenge is to avoid adverse events associated with the prolonged use of corticosteroids that are typically required to achieve clinical improvement,” stated Dr. Dedee Murrell, Professor and Head of the Department of Dermatology at The St. George Hospital Clinical School, University of New South Wales in Sydney, Australia and the lead principal investigator. “PRN1008 has the potential to rapidly and effectively treat patients’ disease, while significantly reducing the exposure to moderate to high corticosteroid doses.”

The open-label Phase 2 study enrolled 27 patients with newly diagnosed and relapsed, mild to severe pemphigus (including both PV and PF). Twenty-four patients were treated with oral PRN1008 and low dose corticosteroids (LDCS; <0.5mg/kg/day) for twelve weeks, with twelve weeks of follow-up. The primary endpoint was CDA (where new lesions cease to form, and existing lesions begin to heal) at Week 4. Other secondary endpoints included complete remission rates and reduction in anti-desmoglein autoantibody levels.

Read the full press release here.

On February 22, 2019, Principia Biopharma Inc., a late-stage biopharmaceutical company dedicated to bringing transformative oral therapies to patients with significant unmet medical needs in immunology and oncology, announced that an abstract has been accepted for oral presentation at the Late-Breaking Research during the 2019 American Academy of Dermatology annual meeting in Washington, D.C.

The abstract, “Final results of the Believe-PV proof of concept study of PRN1008 in pemphigus,” will be presented as part of the Late-Breaking Research: Clinical Trials on Saturday, March 2, 2019 at 2:10pm ET in Ballroom A of the Walter E. Washington Convention Center.

About Principia Biopharma
Principia is a late-stage biopharmaceutical company dedicated to bringing transformative oral therapies to patients with significant unmet medical needs in immunology and oncology. Principia’s proprietary Tailored Covalency^® platform enables Principia to design and develop reversible and irreversible covalent, small molecule inhibitors with potencies and selectivities that have the potential to rival those of injectable biologics yet maintain the convenience of a pill. PRN1008, a reversible covalent BTK inhibitor, is being evaluated in a Phase 3 clinical trial in patients with pemphigus, an orphan autoimmune disease, and in a Phase 2 clinical trial in patients with immune thrombocytopenic purpura, a rare hematological disease. PRN2246, a covalent BTK inhibitor which crosses the blood-brain barrier, has completed a Phase 1 clinical trial in healthy volunteers, and has been partnered with Sanofi for development in multiple sclerosis and, potentially, for other diseases of the central nervous system. PRN1371, a covalent inhibitor of Fibroblast Growth Factor Receptor (FGFR) is being evaluated in a Phase 1 trial in patients with bladder cancer. For more information, please visit www.principiabio.com.

Read the full press release here.

Principia Biopharma Inc, a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company dedicated to bringing transformative oral therapies to patients with significant unmet medical needs in immunology and oncology, today announced positive top-line data from the completed open-label Phase 2 trial of PRN1008 in patients with pemphigus (including both pemphigus vulgaris (PV) and pemphigus foliaceus (PF)) and the initiation of a Phase 3 trial of PRN1008 in pemphigus. The primary efficacy endpoint of the Phase 2 trial – Control of Disease Activity (CDA) within four weeks – was achieved by more than 50% of patients and PRN1008 was generally well tolerated. Based on the results of the Phase 2 trial, Principia has initiated the PEGASUS study, a global, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, pivotal, Phase 3 clinical trial of PRN1008 in patients with moderate to severe pemphigus.

“Pemphigus is a debilitating disease with high unmet need. We are encouraged by the efficacy and safety results from the Phase 2 trial and are initiating the Phase 3 trial based on these results. This is a key milestone for Principia, and the next step toward bringing this novel oral therapy to patients in need,” said Martin Babler, Chief Executive Officer of Principia.

“PRN1008 has the potential to effectively treat patients’ disease and significantly reduce dependence on harmful corticosteroid (CS) doses, which have been the mainstay of treatment in this disease, and may usher in a new era of steroid-sparing, oral therapy for patients suffering from the disease,” stated Dr. Dedee Murrell, Professor and Head of the Department of Dermatology at The St. George Hospital Clinical School, University of New South Wales in Sydney, Australia and the lead principal investigator.

The full data from the Phase 2 trial will be submitted for presentation at a future scientific conference.

Read the full press release here.

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The IPPF has published a white paper focusing on the urgent needs of pemphigus patients.