Introduction: A prospective, non-interventional study (270-902) followed 294 adults with severe hemophilia A (SHA) receiving prophylactic factor VIII (FVIII). From these participants, 112 rolled over into a single-arm, multicenter, phase 3 trial (GENEr8-1; NCT03370913) that evaluated efficacy and safety of valoctocogene roxaparvovec, a gene therapy that provides endogenous FVIII in individuals with SHA. Participants from 270-902 who did not roll over provide an opportunity for a contemporaneous external control. Therefore, the comparative effectiveness of valoctocogene roxaparvovec vs FVIII prophylaxis was evaluated using propensity scoring (PS).
Methods: This post hoc analysis compared 112 participants from GENEr8-1 (treated cohort) to 73 participants in 270-902 who did not enroll in GENEr8-1 (control cohort). The primary analysis used standardized mortality ratio weighting to re-weight baseline characteristics of the control cohort to better match the treated cohort. Mean annualized bleeding rates (ABR) for treated and all bleeds were compared between cohorts along with the proportion of participants with zero bleeds (treated and all bleeds). Sensitivity and scenario analyses were also conducted.
Results: PS adjustments reduced differences in baseline characteristics between cohorts. Mean treated (4.40 vs 0.85; P < 0.001) and all (5.01 vs 1.54; P < 0.001) ABR were significantly lower, and the proportions of participants with zero treated bleeds (82.1% vs 32.9%; P < 0.001) and all bleeds (58.0% vs 28.5%; P < 0.001) were significantly higher in GENEr8-1.
Conclusions: PS-adjusted analyses were consistent with prior intra-individual comparisons. Compared with participants receiving prophylactic FVIII, the participants receiving valoctocogene roxaparvovec experienced lower ABR, and a higher proportion had zero bleeds.
Trail registration: ClinicalTrials.gov identifier, NCT03370913.
Keywords: Clinical trial; Factor VIII; Gene therapy; Hemophilia A; Propensity scores; Valoctocogene roxaparvovec.
Hemophilia A is a bleeding disorder where blood is unable to clot properly because of a missing protein called factor VIII (FVIII). Individuals with hemophilia A have an increased risk of prolonged bleeding episodes that can be deadly. To prevent bleeding, people with severe hemophilia A need to routinely inject treatment into the skin or vein (prophylaxis). While effective, some people find the time and effort needed to maintain frequent injections difficult, since some forms of the prophylaxis must be administered in a hospital setting. Valoctocogene roxaparvovec is a gene therapy where a single injection provides instructions to the liver of individuals with hemophilia A to make the missing protein (FVIII). Then, their own liver cells can produce FVIII protein and prevent bleeding episodes. The valoctocogene roxaparvovec clinical trial compared the number of treated bleeding episodes participants had prior to gene therapy, while using prophylaxis, with the number of treated bleeding episodes after gene therapy. On average, after gene therapy, participants had 4.1 fewer treated bleeding episodes per year. In this study, mathematical models were used to explore how differences in participant’s physical characteristics, such as body weight or medical history, might influence the effectiveness of gene therapy. Even when considering differences in the participants’ physical characteristics, the gene therapy reduced treated bleeding episodes by 3.6 events per year. This study confirms results originally presented from the valoctocogene roxaparvovec clinical trial and reinforces confidence in the ability of valoctocogene roxaparvovec to reduce bleeding outcomes for participants with hemophilia A.
© 2024. The Author(s).