PR86612

FLORENCE, Italy, Nov. 14, 2020/PRNewswire=KYODO JBN/--

The Menarini Group, a privately held Italian pharmaceutical and diagnostics

company, announced today that the Committee for Medicinal Products for Human

Use (CHMP) of the European Medicines Agency (EMA) has adopted a positive

opinion on the approval of ELZONRIS (tagraxofusp) as monotherapy for the

first-line treatment of adult patients with blastic plasmacytoid dendritic cell

neoplasm (BPDCN), an aggressive hematologic malignancy with dismal outcomes.

The positive opinion from the CHMP was based on the largest prospective

clinical trial ever conducted in patients with treatment-naïve or

previously-treated BPDCN.

The CHMP opinion will now be reviewed by the European Commission, which has the

authority to grant marketing authorization for human medicines throughout the

European Union (EU). If approved, ELZONRIS will be the first and only treatment

for BPDCN, and the first approved CD123-targeted therapy, available across the

EU, to address this high unmet medical need.

"Today's CHMP positive opinion is an important milestone for European patients

suffering from BPDCN, and demonstrates our strong commitment to improve the

lives of people affected by difficult-to-treat cancers", commented Elcin Barker

Ergun, CEO of the Menarini Group. "BPDCN is a rare and aggressive disease with

currently no approved therapeutic options across the EU. For this reason, we

are particularly thrilled to be one step closer to making ELZONRIS available

for BPDCN patients".

ELZONRIS is a targeted therapy directed to CD123, first commercially launched

in the United States by Stemline Therapeutics, now part of the Menarini Group.

Under the terms of the acquisition, Stemline shareholders received one

non-tradeable Contingent Value Right (CVR) entitling each holder to $1.00 per

share in cash upon completion of the first sale of ELZONRIS in any EU5 country

after European Commission approval.

ELZONRIS was approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in 2018, where

it is currently available for the treatment of BPDCN in adult and pediatric

patients, two years or older.

About ELZONRIS(R)

ELZONRIS(R) (tagraxofusp), a targeted therapy directed to CD123, is approved by

the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and commercially available in the

U.S. for the treatment of adult and pediatric patients, two years or older,

with BPDCN. For full prescribing information in the U.S., visit www.ELZONRIS.com .

ELZONRIS is also being evaluated in additional clinical trials in other CD123+

indications, including chronic myelomonocytic leukemia (CMML), myelofibrosis

(MF), acute myeloid leukemia (AML), and others are planned, including a CD123+

all-comers trial.

About BPDCN

BPDCN, formerly blastic NK-cell lymphoma, is an aggressive hematologic

malignancy, often with cutaneous manifestations, with historically poor

outcomes. BPDCN typically presents in the bone marrow and/or skin and may also

involve lymph nodes and viscera. The BPDCN cell of origin is the plasmacytoid

dendritic cell (pDC) precursor. The diagnosis of BPDCN is based on the

immunophenotypic diagnostic triad of CD123, CD4, and CD56, as well as other

markers. The World Health Organization (WHO) termed this disease "BPDCN" in

2008; previous names included blastic NK cell lymphoma and agranular CD4+/CD56+

hematodermic neoplasm. For more information, please visit the BPDCN disease

awareness website at www.bpdcninfo.com.

About CD123

CD123 is a cell surface target expressed on a wide range of malignancies

including blastic plasmacytoid dendritic cell neoplasm (BPDCN), certain

myeloproliferative neoplasms (MPNs) including chronic myelomonocytic leukemia

(CMML) and myelofibrosis (MF), acute myeloid leukemia (AML) (and potentially

enriched in certain AML subsets), myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS), and chronic

myeloid leukemia (CML). CD123 has also been reported on multiple myeloma (MM),

acute lymphoid leukemia (ALL), hairy cell leukemia (HCL), Hodgkin's lymphoma

(HL), and certain Non-Hodgkin's lymphomas (NHL). In addition, CD123+ cells have

been detected in the tumor microenvironment of several solid tumors as well as

in certain autoimmune disorders including cutaneous lupus and scleroderma.

About the Menarini Group

Menarini Group is a leading international pharmaceutical company with a

presence in 140 countries, including a direct presence in over 70 countries.

Its global platform extends throughout Europe, U.S., Central America, Africa,

the Middle East and Asia Pacific, and generates over $4.2 billion in annual

sales. Menarini is committed to oncology, with an already commercialized

product in the US and several new investigational drugs in development for the

treatment of a variety of tumors. For over 130 years, Menarini has also been

investing in the development, production and distribution of pharmaceuticals to

serve patients and physicians around the world with a full portfolio of

products covering a number of different therapeutic areas.

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SOURCE: Menarini I.F.R.