Population Pharmacokinetics and Exposure–Response Analysis for the CTLA‐4 Inhibitor Tremelimumab in Metastatic NSCLC Patients in the Phase III POSEIDON Study

Abstract

Blockade of CTLA‐4 by tremelimumab combined with anti‐PD‐L1 durvalumab and chemotherapy provided increased antitumor activity and long‐term survival benefits in first‐line metastatic non‐small cell lung cancer (mNSCLC) in the phase III POSEIDON study. We performed population pharmacokinetic modeling for tremelimumab using data from 1,605 patients across 6 studies (including POSEIDON) in multiple tumors (lung cancer, bladder cancer, malignant mesothelioma, and other solid tumors), and identified a 2‐compartment model with linear and time‐varying clearance for tremelimumab. Cox proportional hazard regression models were applied to 326 patients with mNSCLC from POSEIDON to evaluate the association between exposure metrics and efficacy end points, adjusting for baseline prognostic covariates. Improved progression‐free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS) in the tremelimumab arm (in combination with durvalumab and chemotherapy) was associated with higher tremelimumab exposure (e.g., minimum concentration at 5th dose (Cmin,dose5) and area under the curve at 5th dose (AUCdose5)). However, further case‐matching analyses yielded hazard ratios for the comparison of tremelimumab‐treated patients in the Cmin,dose5 quartile 1 (Q1) subgroup with matched chemotherapy‐treated patients of 1.04 (95% confidence interval (CI): 0.76–1.44) for OS and 0.99 (95% CI: 0.72–1.36) for PFS, suggesting that the observed apparent exposure–response relationship might be confounded. No relationship between tremelimumab exposure and safety (grade ≥3 treatment‐emergent adverse events [AEs], AEs of special interest, or discontinuation due to AEs) was identified. These results support the consistent benefit observed with tremelimumab 75 mg every 3 weeks for up to 5 doses in combination with durvalumab and chemotherapy in POSEIDON as first‐line therapy for mNSCLC.