Novartis today announced the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) granted approval for Tafinlar® (dabrafenib) + Mekinist® (trametinib) for the treatment of pediatric patients 1 year of age and older with low-grade glioma (LGG) with a BRAF V600E mutation who require systemic therapy....This FDA approval of Tafinlar + Mekinist is based on results from the Phase II/III TADPOLE trial (NCT02684058) that showed patients randomized to receive Tafinlar + Mekinist experienced a statistically significant improvement in overall response rate (ORR) of 47% (CI: 35-59%) compared to 11% (CI: 3-25%) for those randomized to receive chemotherapy.

MEKINIST is indicated, in combination with dabrafenib, for:...the treatment of pediatric patients 1 year of age and older with low-grade glioma (LGG) with a BRAF V600E mutation who require systemic therapy…

In the high-grade glioma cohort, median follow-up was 12·7 months (IQR 5·4–32·3) and 15 (33%; 95% CI 20–49) of 45 patients had an objective response by investigator assessment, including three complete responses and 12 partial responses. In the low-grade glioma cohort, median follow-up was 32·2 months (IQR 25·1–47·8). Nine (69%; 95% CI 39–91) of 13 patients had an objective response by investigator assessment, including one complete response, six partial responses, and two minor responses....Dabrafenib plus trametinib showed clinically meaningful activity in patients with BRAFV600E mutation-positive recurrent or refractory high-grade glioma and low-grade glioma, with a safety profile consistent with that in other indications.

Dabrafenib + trametinib demonstrated promising efficacy in pts with BRAF V600E mutation-positive recurrent/refractory HGG and LGG.