a3157g
FORM 6-K
SECURITIES
AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Washington,
D.C. 20549
Report
of Foreign Issuer
Pursuant
to Rule 13a-16 or 15d-16 of
the
Securities Exchange Act of 1934
For the
month of March 2022
Commission
File Number: 001-11960
AstraZeneca PLC
1
Francis Crick Avenue
Cambridge
Biomedical Campus
Cambridge
CB2 0AA
United
Kingdom
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AstraZeneca
PLC
INDEX
TO EXHIBITS
1.
Ondexxya
approved in Japan for FXai reversal
29 March 2022 07:00
BST
Ondexxya approved
in Japan for reversal of acute major bleeds in patients on
Factor Xa inhibitors
Ondexxya is the first approved reversal agent specifically for
Factor Xa inhibitors, providing a major advance in the treatment of
patients hospitalised with life-threatening
bleeding
Ondexxya (andexanet alfa) has been approved in
Japan for patients treated with the Factor Xa
(FXa) inhibitors apixaban, rivaroxaban or edoxaban, when
reversal of anticoagulation is needed due to life-threatening or
uncontrolled bleeding.
The approval by the Japanese Ministry of Health, Labour
and Welfare was based on positive results from
the ANNEXA-4 Phase III
clinical trial showing Ondexxya rapidly and markedly reversed
anti-FXa activity in patients with acute major
bleeding.
Ondexxya is the
first approved medicine in
Japan to specifically reverse the anticoagulant
effect of FXa
inhibitors apixaban, rivaroxaban or edoxaban in
patients experiencing a life-threatening or uncontrolled
bleed. Japan is also the first country to provide full
regulatory approval of Ondexxya for use with all three of the FXa inhibitors
currently available. FXa inhibitors are increasingly
used for the prevention and treatment of thrombotic
events, including deep vein thrombosis and pulmonary
embolism, or in patients at high risk of a stroke due to an
irregular heart rate (atrial fibrillation).
While they prevent unwanted clots from forming, they can
also increase the risk of major bleeding, which can be
life-threatening.1,2
Masahiro Yasaka, MD, PhD, National Hospital Organisation
Kyushu Medical Centre, Fukuoka, Japan, said: "FXa inhibitors
are essential medicines for people prone
to developing blood clots, but they
can also present a risk of uncontrolled bleeding and
related complications, which can be fatal if left
untreated. Ondexxya's rapid reversal of the
anticoagulating effects of apixaban,
rivaroxaban and edoxaban effectively reduces the
bleeding and is a major advancement in
patient care."
Mene Pangalos, Executive Vice President, BioPharmaceuticals
R&D, AstraZeneca, said: "With the approval
of Ondexxya in Japan, we are working to make this
important medicine available as quickly as possible for the
small proportion of patients with life-threatening or
uncontrolled bleeding who are on FXa inhibitors and
who have not previously had an approved reversal agent
treatment option."
Ondexxya received approval
by the US Food and Drug Administration under the accelerated
approval pathway in May 2018 and conditional approval by the
European Commission in April 2019 for adults treated with FXa
inhibitors apixaban and rivaroxaban. In the
US, Ondexxya is marketed under the trade
name Andexxa [coagulation factor Xa (recombinant),
inactivated-zhzo].
Notes
Life-threatening bleeding
There is an urgent need for a specific reversal agent for patients
treated with FXa inhibitors hospitalised with a major bleed.
Millions of patients worldwide depend on FXa inhibitors every day
to prevent harmful blood clots from forming;3 however,
these agents increase the risk of major
bleeding.1,2 Major
bleeding can be very serious and life-threatening, and can happen
inside the body and may not be visible. As prescriptions for FXa
inhibitors increase, the potential for serious bleeding hospital
admissions grows.4,5
ANNEXA-4
The approval of Ondexxya is
supported by data from the ANNEXA-4 Phase III trial, which
evaluated the haemostatic efficacy and
safety of Ondexxya in
patients receiving a FXa inhibitor who were experiencing an acute
major bleed.6 In
the trial, Ondexxya markedly reversed anti-FXa activity
within minutes, with 80% of patients having excellent or
good haemostatic efficacy sustained at 12 hours following
administration. During the trial, 10.4% of patients
experienced at least one thrombotic event, the majority
of which occurred in patients who delayed or did not restart
anticoagulation during the follow-up period.6 Consistent
with previous trial results in patients who are at
increased risk of thrombosis, 15.7% of patients
died during the trial.6
Ondexxya
Ondexxya (andexanet alfa) is a recombinant protein specifically designed to
bind to FXa inhibitors and rapidly reverse their anticoagulant
effect. Ondexxya is a modified form of the human FXa
molecule, an enzyme that helps blood clot. Ondexxya works
by acting as a decoy for oral and
injectable FXa inhibitors, which target and bind
to FXa, allowing them to exert their anticoagulant
effect. When Ondexxya is given through an intravenous infusion to
a patient with FXa inhibitor-related bleeding, it binds
with high affinity to the FXa inhibitor, prevents it
from inhibiting the activity of FXa and reverses the
anticoagulant effects of the inhibitor.
AstraZeneca in CVRM
Cardiovascular, Renal and Metabolism (CVRM), part of
BioPharmaceuticals, forms one of AstraZeneca's three disease areas
and is a key growth driver for the Company. By following the
science to understand more clearly the underlying links between the
heart, kidneys and pancreas, AstraZeneca is investing in a
portfolio of medicines for organ protection and improving outcomes
by slowing disease progression, reducing risks and tackling
co-morbidities. The Company's ambition is to modify or halt the
natural course of CVRM diseases and potentially regenerate organs
and restore function, by continuing to deliver transformative
science that improves treatment practices and CV health for
millions of patients worldwide.
AstraZeneca
AstraZeneca (LSE/STO/Nasdaq: AZN) is a global, science-led
biopharmaceutical company that focuses on the discovery,
development, and commercialisation of prescription medicines in
Oncology, Rare Diseases, and BioPharmaceuticals, including
Cardiovascular, Renal & Metabolism, and Respiratory &
Immunology. Based in Cambridge, UK, AstraZeneca operates in over
100 countries and its innovative medicines are used by millions of
patients worldwide. Please visit astrazeneca.com and
follow the Company on Twitter
@AstraZeneca.
Contacts
For details on how to contact the Investor Relations Team, please
click here. For
Media contacts, click here.
References
1. Held C, Hylek EM,
Alexander JH, et al. Clinical outcomes and management associated
with major bleeding in patients with atrial fibrillation treated
with apixaban or warfarin: insights from the ARISTOTLE
trial. Eur Heart J 2015;36:1264-1272.
2. Piccini JP et al.
Management of major bleeding events in patients treated with
rivaroxaban vs. warfarin: results from the ROCKET AF
trial. Eur Heart J 2014;35:1873-1880.
3. Coleman CI, et
al. Real-world management of oral factor Xa inhibitor-related
bleeds with reversal or replacement agents including andexanet alfa
and four-factor prothrombin complex concentrate: a multicenter
study. Future
Cardiol.
2021;17:127-135.
4. Budnitz DS, et al. US Emergency
Department Visits Attributed to Medication Harms,
2017-2019. JAMA. 2021;326:1299-1309.
5. Geller AL, et al. Emergency
Visits for Oral Anticoagulant Bleeding. J Gen Intern
Med.
2020;35(1):371-373.
6. Presentation: Milling
T, Middeldorp S, Xu L, et al. Final Study Report of Andexanet Alfa
for Bleeding with Factor XA Inhibitors. Poster presented at
2021 European
Stroke Conference; September 2021; Virtual.
Adrian Kemp
Company Secretary
AstraZeneca PLC
SIGNATURES
Pursuant
to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the
Registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf
by the undersigned, thereunto duly authorized.
Date:
29 March 2022
|
By: /s/
Adrian Kemp
|
|
Name:
Adrian Kemp
|
|
Title:
Company Secretary
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