U.S. flag An official website of the United States government

On Oct. 1, 2024, the FDA began implementing a reorganization impacting many parts of the agency. We are in the process of updating FDA.gov content to reflect these changes.

  1. Home
  2. Drugs
  3. Development & Approval Process | Drugs
  4. Drug Trials Snapshots: RETEVMO
  1. Development & Approval Process | Drugs

Drug Trials Snapshots: RETEVMO

 

HOW TO USE THIS SNAPSHOT
The information provided in Snapshots highlights who participated in the clinical trials that supported the FDA approval of this drug, and whether there were differences among sex, race and age groups. The “MORE INFO” bar shows more detailed, technical content for each section. The Snapshot is intended as one tool for consumers to use when discussing the risks and benefits of the drugs.

LIMITATIONS OF THIS SNAPSHOT
Do not rely on Snapshots to make decisions regarding medical care. Always speak to your health provider about the risks and benefits of a drug. Refer to RETEVMO Prescribing Information for complete information.

RETEVMO (selpercatinib)
reh-TEHV-moh
Eli Lilly and Company
Approval date: May 8, 2020


DRUG TRIALS SNAPSHOT SUMMARY:

What is the drug for?

RETEVMO is a drug used to treat certain cancers caused by abnormal RET (rearranged during transfection) genes in:

  • adult patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) which has spread to other parts of the body (metastatic).
  • adults and children 12 years of age and older with advanced or metastatic medullary thyroid cancer (MTC).
  • adults and children 12 years of age and older with advanced or metastatic thyroid cancer who have received radioactive iodine that did not work or is no longer working.

How is this drug used?

RETEVMO is a capsule usually taken by mouth twice a day.

What are the benefits of this drug?

Sixty-four percent of the 105 patients with previously treated NSCLC, experienced complete or partial shrinkage of their tumors which lasted more than 6 months for 81% of them. Out of 39 patients who had never undergone treatment, 84% experienced complete or partial shrinkage of their tumors which lasted more than 6 months for 58% of them.

Sixty-nine percent of the 55 previously treated patients for MTC experienced complete or partial shrinkage of their tumors which lasted more than 6 months for 76% of them. Out of 88 patients who had never undergone treatment with an approved drug, 73% experienced complete or partial shrinkage of their tumors which lasted more than 6 months for 61% of them.

Seventy-nine percent of the 19 previously treated patients with thyroid cancer experienced complete or partial shrinkage of their tumors which lasted more than 6 months for 87% of them. All eight patients who had not received therapy other than radioactive iodine therapy experienced complete or partial shrinkage of their tumors which lasted more than 6 months for 75 % of them.

RETEVMO was approved under FDA’s accelerated approval program, which provides earlier patient access to a promising new drug while the company continues to conduct clinical trials to confirm that the drug works well.

Were there any differences in how well the drug worked in clinical trials among sex, race and age?

  • Sex: RETEVMO worked similarly in men and women.
  • Race: RETEVMO worked similarly in White and Asian patients. Differences among other races could not be determined because of the small number of patients of other races.
  • Age: RETEVMO worked similarly in patients below and above 65 years of age.

What are the possible side effects?

RETEVMO may cause serious side effects including liver toxicity, high blood pressure, heart rhythm changes due to prolongation of heart electrical activity (QT prolongation), bleeding, allergic reactions, impaired wound healing and harm to an unborn baby.

The most common side effects of RETEVMO are changes in laboratory tests (including increased liver enzymes, increased blood sugar, decreased white cell and platelet counts, decreased protein level, decreased calcium, increased total cholesterol, increased creatinine, and decreased sodium) dry mouth, diarrhea, high blood pressure, fatigue, edema, rash, and constipation.

Were there any differences in side effects among sex, race and age?

  • Sex: The occurrence of side effects was similar in men and women.
  • Race: The occurrence of side effects was similar between White and Asian patients. Differences in side effects among other races could not be determined because of the small number of patients of other races.
  • Age: The occurrence of side effects was similar between patients below and above 65 years of age.

WHO WAS IN THE CLINICAL TRIALS?

Who participated in the trials?

The FDA approved RETEVMO based on the evidence from one clinical trial (NCT03157128) of 702 patients 15-92 years old with certain cancers caused by abnormal RET genes. The trial was conducted at 84 sites in the United States, Canada, Australia, Hong Kong, Japan, South Korea, Singapore,Taiwan, Switzerland, Germany, Denmark, Spain, France, United Kingdom, Italy and Israel.

All 702 patients that provided data for the assessment of side effects of RETEVMO (safety population) are presented below. Some of these patients provided data for the assessment of the benefits of RETEVMO for NSCLC, some for benefits for MTC and some for benefits for thyroid cancer. Demographic data of these patients that formed efficacy populations are presented in Tables 14 and 15 under MORE INFO 5.

Figure 1 below summarizes by sex how many patients were in the clinical trial.

Figure 1. Demographics by Sex (safety population)

Pie chart summarizing how many men and women were in the clinical trial. In total, 334 women (48%) and 368 men (52%) participated in the clinical trial.

Adapted from FDA Review

Figure 2 summarizes the percentage of patients in the clinical trial by race.

Figure 2. Demographics by Race (safety population)

Pie chart summarizing the percentage of patients by race enrolled in the clinical trial. In total, 485 White (69%), 24 Black or African American  (3%), 154 Asian (22%) and 39 Other (6%).

*includes American Indian or Alaska Native, Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander Other, and Unknown

Adapted from FDA Review

Figure 3 below summarizes the percentage of patients in the clinical trial by age.

Figure 3. Demographics by Age (safety population)

Pie charts summarizing how many individuals of certain age groups were enrolled in the clinical trial. In total,  463 (66%) were less than 65 and 172 patients were 65 - 74 years (24%) and 67 patients were 75 years and older (10%).

Adapted from FDA Review

Figure 4. Demographics by Ethnicity (safety population)

Pie charts summarizing ethnicity of patients enrolled in the clinical trial. In total,  34 patients were Hispanic or Latino (5%) and 652 patients were not Hispanic or Latino (93%).

Adapted from FDA Review

How were the trials designed?

The benefits and side effects of RETEVMO for certain cancers caused by abnormal RET genes were evaluated in one clinical trial. Some patients were previously treated for their cancer and some were not (treatment-naïve). All patients received RETEVMO by mouth twice a day until either cancer progression or intolerable side effects.

The benefit of RETEVMO was evaluated by measuring the percentage of patients who achieved complete or partial shrinkage of their tumors (overall response rate or ORR) and by measuring the duration of that benefit (duration of response or DoR).

GLOSSARY

CLINICAL TRIAL: Voluntary research studies conducted in people and designed to answer specific questions about the safety or effectiveness of drugs, vaccines, other therapies, or new ways of using existing treatments.
COMPARATOR: A previously available treatment or placebo used in clinical trials that is compared to the actual drug being tested.
EFFICACY: How well the drug achieves the desired response when it is taken as described in a controlled clinical setting, such as during a clinical trial.
PLACEBO: An inactive substance or “sugar pill” that looks the same as, and is given the same way as, an active drug or treatment being tested. The effects of the active drug or treatment are compared to the effects of the placebo.
SUBGROUP: A subset of the population studied in a clinical trial. Demographic subsets include sex, race, and age groups.

PRESCRIBING INFORMATION

Back to Drug Trials Snapshots

 

Back to Top