DAXI Impresses; Approaches FDA Approval

The long-awaited, longer-lasting neuromodulator drug candidate DaxibotulinumtoxinA for Injection (DAXI), a botulinum toxin type A formulated with a novel peptide excipient, may be nearing FDA approval.

In mid-December 2020, Revance Therapeutics shared results from its phase 2 upper facial lines study (NCT04259086),¹ in which investigators looked at DAXI for combined treatment of glabellar, dynamic forehead, and lateral canthal lines.

The authors reported on a multicenter study of 48 patients enrolled to receive 40, 32, and 48 U of DAXI for injection in the glabellar complex, forehead, and lateral canthal areas, respectively. At week 4, nearly 92% of patients achieved an Investigator Global Assessment (IGA) score indicating no or mild wrinkle severity with maximum contraction on their lateral canthal lines. Nearly 96% achieved similar results on their forehead and glabellar lines at week 4.

Wrinkle severity returned to baseline at a median of 7.6 months post treatment, according to the phase 2 study findings.

The treatment was well tolerated in all upper facial regions. The most common adverse event (AE) was injection site erythema, which occurred in 6.3% of patients. The authors reported no eyelid or brow ptosis.

This was Revance’s first DAXI study on not just glabellar lines but also on forehead and periocular lines, or crow’s-feet, according to Jeffrey S. Dover, MD, FRCPC, a phase 2 study investigator and a dermatologist at SkinCare Physicians in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts. “I think this is yet more evidence that the Revance neuromodulator produces an impressive effect on lines of negative facial expression and lasts longer than any of the other neuromodulators approved by the FDA thus far,” said Dover.

Dermatologic Surgery published 2 papers on the investigational neuromodulator in January 2021. In one study,² investigators evaluated the use of up to 3 DAXI treatments for moderate or severe glabellar lines. They focused on data from SAKURA 1 and 2 (NCT03014622 and NCT03014635), two identical phase 3, open label, multicenter studies in which investigators evaluated single and repeat treatment of the glabellar lines with 40 U of DAXI.

The authors reported on safety results for nearly 2700 patients, including 882 who received a second treatment and 568 who got DAXI a third time. Treatment-related AEs, which were generally mild and resolved, occurred in 17.8% of patients. Eyelid ptosis occurred in 0.9% of treatments.

Investigators of 2 other studies^3,4 focused on DAXI efficacy among nearly 2700 subjects enrolled in Revance’s preceding pivotal trials. Participants received repeat treatments when they returned to baseline on the IGA–Frown Wrinkle Severity (FWS) and IGA–Patient Frown Winkle Severity (PFWS) scales at 12 weeks and up to 36 weeks after treatment.

More than 96% of patients achieved no or mild severity in glabellar wrinkles on the IGA- FWS scale after each of the 3 treatments, with peak responses between weeks 2 to 4, and about one-third or more saw no or mild severity at week 24. Response rates reached highs of 92% or more at weeks 2 to 4 on the IGA-PFWS scale.

“The median duration for return to moderate or severe severity was 24 weeks,” the authors said. “If approved, I believe daxibotulinumtoxinA will change the landscape of neuromodulators significantly. The approved ones all last 3 months. They all give nice results and have few adverse effects,” Dover said.

He and other investigators have seen no rise in AEs, and those that did occur lasted no longer than those of Botox, he said.

Revance appears to be preparing for approval. The company announced on December 22, 2020, that it has a strategic commercial manufacturing agreement with Ajinomoto Bio- Pharma Services for the supply of DAXI.⁵

As of November 24, 2020, the FDA had deferred a decision on the neuromodulator because the required factory inspection could not be conducted due to travel restrictions related to coronavirus disease 2019.⁶ The FDA did not indicate any other issues.

Disclosures:

Dover reports no relevant disclosures or financial interests.

References:

1. Green JB, Mariwalla K, Coleman K, et al. A large, open-label, phase 3 safety study of DaxibotulinumtoxinA for Injection in glabellar lines: a focus on safety from the SAKURA 3 study. Derm Surg. 2021;47(1):42-46. doi:10.1097/DSS.0000000000002463
2. Carruthers JD, Jean D, Fagien S, et al; SAKURA 1 and SAKURA 2 Investigator Group. DaxibotulinumtoxinA for Injection for the treatment of glabellar lines: results from each of two multicenter, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, phase 3 studies (SAKURA 1 and SAKURA 2).Plast Reconstr Surg. 2020;1(145):45-58.doi: 10.1097/PRS.0000000000006327
3. Fabi SG, Cohen JL, Green LJ, et al. DaxibotulinumtoxinA for Injection for the treatment of glabellar lines: efficacy results from SAKURA 3, a large, open-label, phase 3 safety study. Derm Surg. 2021;47(1):48-54. doi:10.1097/DSS.0000000000002531
4. https://investors.revance.com/news-releases/news-release-details/ajinomoto-bio-pharma-services-and-revance-therapeutics-announce. December 22, 2020. Accessed January 15, 2021.
5. FDA defers approval of DaxibotulinumtoxinA for Injection in glabellar lines due to COVID-19 related travel restrictions impacting manufacturing site inspection. News release. Revance Therapeutics, Inc. November 25, 2020. Accessed January 13, 2021. https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20201125005462/en/FDA-Defers-Approval-DaxibotulinumtoxinA-Injection-Glabellar-Lines