Results from Part A of CADENZA, a pivotal Phase 3 double-blind, placebo-controlled study evaluating the safety and efficacy of sutimlimab in people with cold agglutinin disease (CAD) without a recent history of blood transfusion (within the prior six months), will be presented in an oral session at the European Hematology Association 2021 Congress. The data demonstrated treatment with sutimlimab resulted in rapid and sustained inhibition of C1-activated hemolysis in people with CAD, noted within one week of treatment, and clinically significant improvements in hemoglobin and fatigue when compared to placebo during the course of the study.

“Cold agglutinin disease causes the body’s immune system to mistakenly destroy its healthy red blood cells. People living with cold agglutinin disease experience the crippling impact of chronic hemolysis that can cause severe anemia, profound fatigue and can have acute hemolytic crisis,” said principal investigator and presenting author Professor Alexander Röth, M.D., Department of Hematology and Stem Cell Transplantation, University Hospital, University of Duisburg-Essen, Germany. “The positive evidence from the CADENZA trial demonstrate significant improvements in hemolysis and meaningful impact on key measures of anemia and fatigue.”

CADENZA is a second pivotal Phase 3 study investigating sutimlimab in the treatment of CAD. The primary efficacy outcome was the proportion of patients who met all three of the following components: improvement in hemoglobin ≥1.5 g/dL from baseline at treatment assessment timepoint, (average of Weeks 23, 25, and 26); avoidance of transfusions from Week 5 through Week 26; and avoidance of other CAD-related therapies beyond what was permitted from Week 5 through Week 26. The secondary efficacy measures assessed improvement from baseline in key indicators of the disease process including hemoglobin, bilirubin, lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) levels, and quality of life as measured by Functional Assessment of Chronic Illness Therapy (FACIT)-Fatigue Score.

“The results from CADENZA and data from the Phase 3 CARDINAL study, presented as a late-breaker at the American Society of Hematology congress in 2019, will be the basis of our filing with the European Medicines Agency. Together, the studies highlight the promising potential of sutimlimab to have a meaningful impact for people living with CAD,” said Karin Knobe, M.D., Ph.D., Head of Development, Rare and Rare Blood Disorders, Sanofi. “Based on the robust clinical evidence we have to-date, sutimlimab significantly inhibits hemolysis and has the potential to be an important new treatment for CAD.”