Gamida Cell Ltd, a cell therapy pioneer working to turn cells into powerful therapeutics, announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved Gamida Cell’s allogeneic cell therapy, Omisirge, for use in adult and pediatric patients 12 years and older with hematologic malignancies planned for umbilical cord blood transplantation following myeloablative conditioning to reduce the time to neutrophil recovery and the incidence of infection
Omisirge received breakthrough therapy designation, priority review and orphan drug designation from the FDA, reflecting the unmet need for additional donor sources for stem cell transplant. It is the first allogeneic stem cell transplant therapy to be approved on the basis of a global, randomized Phase 3 clinical study. Please see the accompanying full Prescribing Information for more information.
“FDA approval of Omisirge is a major advancement in the treatment of patients with hematologic malignancies that we believe may increase access to stem cell transplant and help improve patient outcomes,” said Abbey Jenkins, President and Chief Executive Officer of Gamida Cell. “We are grateful to all the clinicians, patients and the entire Gamida Cell team without whom this approval would not have been possible. We also acknowledge the key role the FDA has played in supporting the development of Omisirge and other innovative and potentially life-saving cell therapies for patients with cancer and other serious diseases.”
More than 40% of the patients in the Omisirge Phase 3 study were racially and ethnically diverse,1 underscoring the degree to which Omisirge may help address health disparities in stem cell transplantation.
“The approval of Omisirge is a significant development in hematopoietic stem cell transplantation,” said Steven M. Devine, M.D., Chief Medical Officer at the National Marrow Donor Program (NMDP)/Be The Match. “Patients who are Black or African American have just a 29% chance of finding a match via the donor registry vs. a 79% chance for patients who are White.3 Adding Omisirge as a new donor source may help increase access to stem cell transplant for patients from racially or ethnically diverse backgrounds who struggle to find a fully matched donor in the registry.”
Allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation offers a potentially curative option for hematologic malignancies including acute myeloid leukemia, acute lymphoblastic leukemia, chronic myeloid leukemia and myelodysplastic syndromes. Allogeneic transplant uses cells from a donor other than the recipient.
SOURCE: Businesswire