April 4, 2022 – Roche announced that the FDA has accepted the company’s supplemental Biologics License Application (sBLA) and has granted Priority Review for Actemra®/RoActemra® (tocilizumab) intravenous for the treatment of COVID-19 in hospitalised adults who are receiving systemic corticosteroids and require supplemental oxygen, non-invasive or invasive mechanical ventilation, or extracorporeal membrane oxygenation. A decision on U.S. FDA approval is expected in the second half of this year.
“The high rate of unvaccinated people will continue to put a strain on hospitals and healthcare systems around the world, furthering the need for effective treatments for patients hospitalised with COVID-19,” said Levi Garraway, M.D., Ph.D., Chief Medical Officer and Head of Global Product Development, Roche. “More than one million people with severe or critical COVID-19 have already been treated with Actemra/RoActemra worldwide, demonstrating the important role of this medicine in the fight against the pandemic.”
The sBLA submission is based on results from four randomised, controlled studies that evaluated Actemra/RoActemra for the treatment of COVID-19 in more than 5,500 hospitalised patients. Altogether, the results of these four studies (EMPACTA, COVACTA, REMDACTA, and RECOVERY) suggest that Actemra/RoActemra may improve outcomes in patients receiving corticosteroids and requiring supplemental oxygen or breathing support.
In June 2021, Actemra/RoActemra received Emergency Use Authorization from the U.S. FDA and is currently approved for use in 16 countries around the world for defined patients hospitalised with severe or critical COVID-19. In February 2022, the World Health Organization (WHO) prequalified Actemra/RoActemra for patients with severe or critical COVID-19, supporting access to care in low- and middle-income countries.
In addition to working with health authorities, Roche has established a comprehensive access approach to improve availability of its COVID-19 medicines around the world including:
- Providing Actemra/RoActemra at cost to WHO and partners of the Access to COVID-19 Tools Accelerator (ACT-A) Initiative, building on the significant portion of Actemra/RoActemra supply that Roche has provided to upper-middle- and lower-middle-income countries since the beginning of the pandemic.
- Implementing an international differentiated pricing strategy specifically designed to address needs during this pandemic and improve affordability.
Following the emergence of the SARS-CoV-2 variant of concern, Omicron (B.1.1.529), in December 2021 WHO reported that interleukin-6 receptor blockers, such as Actemra/RoActemra, are expected to still be effective for managing patients with severe COVID-19.