MediWound announced the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has accepted for review its recently submitted Biologics License Application (BLA) for NexoBrid? for eschar removal (debridement) in adults with deep partial-thickness and/or full-thickness thermal burns. The FDA assigned a Prescription Drug User Fee Act (PDUFA) target date of June 29, 2021. In addition, the FDA communicated that it is not currently planning to hold an advisory committee meeting to discuss the application.

“The FDA’s acceptance of the NexoBrid BLA submission for review is a major milestone for MediWound, and it is gratifying to know NexoBrid is one step closer to being available to help burn victims in the United States,” said Sharon Malka, CEO of MediWound. “We thank all our partners for their commitment to this important program, and we look forward, together with BARDA and Vericel, to working with the FDA during the regulatory review process as we seek marketing approval for NexoBrid in the United States.”

“The FDA's acceptance of the NexoBrid BLA for review represents another important milestone toward our goal of providing a new standard of care for eschar removal in patients with severe burns and brings us one step closer to providing NexoBrid as a treatment option for the thousands of patients each year who suffer deep-partial and full-thickness burns that require debridement,” Nick Colangelo, President and CEO of Vericel, said.

The BLA submission includes a comprehensive set of manufacturing data, multiple preclinical and clinical studies including the pivotal U.S. Phase 3 (DETECT) study of NexoBrid in adult patients with deep partial and/or full-thickness thermal burns up to 30% of total body surface area. The DETECT study successfully met its primary endpoint and all secondary endpoints, with a comparable safety profile. NexoBrid is approved in the European Union and other international markets and has been designated as an orphan biologic drug in the United States, European Union and other international markets. NexoBrid is currently an investigational product in the United States. Vericel holds an exclusive license for North American commercial rights to NexoBrid. Funding and technical support for the development of NexoBrid is being provided by the U.S. Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA).

NexoBrid (concentrate of proteolytic enzymes enriched in Bromelain) is a topically administered biological product that enzymatically removes nonviable burn tissue, or eschar, in patients with deep partial and full-thickness thermal burns within four hours of application without harming viable tissue. NexoBrid is approved in the European Union and other international markets and has been designated as an orphan biologic drug in the United States, European Union, and other international markets. Vericel holds an exclusive license for North American commercial rights to NexoBrid. In January 2019, MediWound announced positive top-line results from the acute phase of the pivotal Phase 3 U.S. clinical study (DETECT) of NexoBrid in adult patients with deep partial-and full-thickness thermal burns up to 30 percent of total body surface area. The study met its primary endpoint of complete eschar removal compared to gel vehicle as well as all secondary endpoints compared to standard of care (SOC), including shorter time to eschar removal, a lower incidence of surgical eschar removal and lower blood loss during eschar removal. Safety endpoints, including the key safety endpoint of non-inferiority in time to complete wound closure compared with patients treated with SOC, were also achieved. In addition, the twelve-month follow-up safety data of cosmesis and function were found to be comparable between the treatment and SOC arms, and no new safety signals were observed. On June 29, 2020, a BLA was submitted to the U.S. FDA seeking the approval for eschar removal (debridement) in adults with deep partial-thickness and/or full-thickness thermal burns.