CarcinogenicityAcceptedBeyond the letter
No carcinogenicity studies for a chronic migraine indication; weight-of-evidence assessment instead
Why: CGRP biology, target specificity, no structural alerts, and toxicity and clinical data indicate low carcinogenic potential · Weight of evidence · Pharmacology or kinetics · Human data
“Carcinogenicity studies were not required, based on the potential for galcanezumab to counter CGRP associated angiogenesis and immunosuppression, specificity of galcanezumab for CGRP, lack of structural alerts on galcanezumab, and submitted toxicity and clinical studies, which indicated that galcanezumab has a low potential for carcinogenicity.”
✓ VerifiedFDA pharmacology/toxicology review, p. 11Source ↗ Safety pharmacologyAcceptedBeyond the letter
No dedicated nonclinical study of the theoretical cardiovascular risk of CGRP inhibition, before or after approval
Why: Nonclinical studies unlikely to provide useful information given limited understanding of CGRP's role · Other reason
“Without a better understanding of the role of CGRP, it is unlikely that nonclinical studies of galcanezumab could be designed and conducted that would provide useful information; therefore, no post-marketing study to further assess the cardiovascular safety of galcanezumab is recommended.”
✓ VerifiedFDA pharmacology/toxicology review, p. 5Source ↗