Avapritinib, sold under the brand name Ayvakit among others, is a

medication A medication (also called medicament, medicine, pharmaceutical drug, medicinal drug or simply drug) is a drug used to diagnose, cure, treat, or prevent disease. Drug therapy (pharmacotherapy) is an important part of the medical field and re ...

used for the treatment of advanced systemic

mastocytosis Mastocytosis, a type of mast cell disease, is a rare disorder affecting both children and adults caused by the accumulation of functionally defective mast cells (also called ''mastocytes'') and CD34+ mast cell precursors. People affected by masto ...

and for the treatment of tumors due to one specific rare mutation: it is specifically intended for adults with unresectable or

metastatic Metastasis is a pathogenic agent's spread from an initial or primary site to a different or secondary site within the host's body; the term is typically used when referring to metastasis by a cancerous tumor. The newly pathological sites, then, ...

gastrointestinal stromal tumor (GIST) that harbor a platelet-derived

growth factor receptor A growth factor receptor is a receptor that binds to a growth factor. Growth factor receptors are the first stop in cells where the signaling cascade for cell differentiation and proliferation begins. Growth factors, which are ligands that bind to ...

alpha (PDGFRA) exon 18 mutation. Avapritinib is a

kinase inhibitor A protein kinase inhibitor is a type of enzyme inhibitor that blocks the action of one or more protein kinases. Protein kinases are enzymes that phosphorylate (add a phosphate, or PO4, group) to a protein and can modulate its function. The phospha ...

. Common side effects include

edema Edema, also spelled oedema, and also known as fluid retention, dropsy, hydropsy and swelling, is the build-up of fluid in the body's Tissue (biology), tissue. Most commonly, the legs or arms are affected. Symptoms may include skin which feels t ...

(swelling),

nausea Nausea is a diffuse sensation of unease and discomfort, sometimes perceived as an urge to vomit. While not painful, it can be a debilitating symptom if prolonged and has been described as placing discomfort on the chest, abdomen, or back of the ...

fatigue Fatigue describes a state of tiredness that does not resolve with rest or sleep. In general usage, fatigue is synonymous with extreme tiredness or exhaustion that normally follows prolonged physical or mental activity. When it does not resolve ...

asthenia Weakness is a symptom of a number of different conditions. The causes are many and can be divided into conditions that have true or perceived muscle weakness. True muscle weakness is a primary symptom of a variety of skeletal muscle diseases, i ...

(abnormal physical weakness or lack of energy),

cognitive impairment Cognitive deficit is an inclusive term to describe any characteristic that acts as a barrier to the cognition process. The term may describe * deficits in overall intelligence (as with intellectual disabilities), * specific and restricted defici ...

vomiting Vomiting (also known as emesis and throwing up) is the involuntary, forceful expulsion of the contents of one's stomach through the mouth and sometimes the Human nose, nose. Vomiting can be the result of ailments like Food-poisoning, foo ...

decreased appetite Anorexia is a medical term for a loss of appetite. While the term in non-scientific publications is often used interchangeably with anorexia nervosa, many possible causes exist for a loss of appetite, some of which may be harmless, while others i ...

diarrhea Diarrhea, also spelled diarrhoea, is the condition of having at least three loose, liquid, or watery bowel movements each day. It often lasts for a few days and can result in dehydration due to fluid loss. Signs of dehydration often begin wi ...

, hair color changes, increased

lacrimation Tears are a clear liquid secreted by the lacrimal glands (tear gland) found in the eyes of all land mammals. Tears are made up of water, electrolytes, proteins, lipids, and mucins that form layers on the surface of eyes. The different types of ...

(secretion of tears),

abdominal pain Abdominal pain, also known as a stomach ache, is a symptom Signs and symptoms are the observed or detectable signs, and experienced symptoms of an illness, injury, or condition. A sign for example may be a higher or lower temperature than ...

constipation Constipation is a bowel dysfunction that makes bowel movements infrequent or hard to pass. The stool is often hard and dry. Other symptoms may include abdominal pain, bloating, and feeling as if one has not completely passed the bowel movement ...

rash A rash is a change of the human skin which affects its color, appearance, or texture. A rash may be localized in one part of the body, or affect all the skin. Rashes may cause the skin to change color, itch, become warm, bumpy, chapped, dry, cr ...

and

dizziness Dizziness is an imprecise term that can refer to a sense of disorientation in space, vertigo, or lightheadedness. It can also refer to disequilibrium or a non-specific feeling, such as giddiness or foolishness. Dizziness is a common medical c ...

Medical uses

Avapritinib is

indicated In medicine, an indication is a valid reason to use a certain test, medication, procedure, or surgery. There can be multiple indications to use a procedure or medication. An indication can commonly be confused with the term diagnosis. A diagnosis ...

for the treatment of adults with unresectable or metastatic gastrointestinal stromal tumors (GIST) harboring the platelet-derived growth factor receptor alpha (PDGFRA) exon 18 mutation, including PDGFRA D842V mutations. Avapritinib is also indicated for the treatment of adults with advanced systemic mastocytosis, aggressive systemic mastocytosis, systemic mastocytosis with an associated hematological neoplasm, and mast cell leukemia (MCL).

History

The U.S.

Food and Drug Administration The United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA or US FDA) is a List of United States federal agencies, federal agency of the United States Department of Health and Human Services, Department of Health and Human Services. The FDA is respon ...

(FDA) approved avapritinib in January 2020. The application for avapritinib was granted

fast track The fast track is an informal English term meaning "the quickest and most direct route to achievement of a goal, as in competing for professional advancement". By definition, it implies that a less direct, slower route also exists. Fast track or F ...

designation,

breakthrough therapy Breakthrough therapy is a United States Food and Drug Administration designation that expedites drug development that was created by Congress under Section 902 of the 9 July 2012 Food and Drug Administration Safety and Innovation Act. The FDA's "br ...

designation, and

orphan drug An orphan drug is a pharmaceutical agent developed to treat medical conditions which, because they are so rare, would not be profitable to produce without government assistance. The conditions are referred to as orphan diseases. The assignment of ...

designation. The FDA granted approval of Ayvakit to Blueprint Medicines Corporation. Avapritinib was approved based on the results from the Phase I NAVIGATOR clinical trial involving 43 subjects with GIST harboring a PDGFRA exon 18 mutation, including 38 subjects with PDGFRA D842V mutation. Subjects received avapritinib 300 mg or 400 mg orally once daily until disease progression or they experienced unacceptable toxicity. The recommended dose was determined to be 300 mg once daily. The trial measured how many subjects experienced complete or partial shrinkage (by a certain amount) of their tumors during treatment (overall response rate). For subjects harboring a PDGFRA exon 18 mutation, the overall response rate was 84%, with 7% having a complete response and 77% having a partial response. For the subgroup of subjects with PDGFRA D842V mutations, the overall response rate was 89%, with 8% having a complete response and 82% having a partial response. While the median duration of response was not reached, 61% of the responding subjects with exon 18 mutations had a response lasting six months or longer (31% of subjects with an ongoing response were followed for less than six months). The FDA approved avapritinib based on evidence from one clinical trial (NCT02508532) of 204 subjects with GIST. The trial was conducted at 17 sites in the United States, Europe and Asia. Avapritinib showed a median PFS of 4.2 months compared to 5.6 months for

regorafenib Regorafenib, sold under the brand name Stivarga among others, is an oral multi-kinase inhibitor developed by Bayer which targets angiogenic, stromal and oncogenic receptor tyrosine kinase (RTK). Regorafenib shows anti-angiogenic activity due to ...

. The difference in median PFS between the avapritinib and regorafenib groups was not statistically significant. The overall response rate was 17 percent for the avapritinib group and 7 percent for the regorafenib group. The VOYAGER trial evaluated the efficacy and safety of avapritinib (N=240) versus regorafenib (N=236) in patients with third- or fourth-line GIST. Avapritinib was approved for medical use in the European Union in September 2020. Text was copied from this source which is © European Medicines Agency. Reproduction is authorized provided the source is acknowledged. Ayvakit was granted approval for advanced systemic mastocytosis by the FDA on June 16, 2021.

References

External links

* * * * * * {{Portal bar , Medicine Orphan drugs Tyrosine kinase inhibitors

Medical uses

History

References

Further reading

External links