TIVDAK® (tisotumab vedotin) Approved by Japan Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare for the Treatment of Advanced or Recurrent Cervical Cancer that has Progressed on or after Chemotherapy
Media Release
COPENHAGEN, Denmark; March 27, 2025
- TIVDAK® is the first and only antibody-drug conjugate (ADC) approved for patients with advanced or recurrent cervical cancer in Japan
- Approval is based on results from the global Phase 3 innovaTV 301 trial, in which TIVDAK demonstrated superior overall survival compared to chemotherapy
- Rising cervical cancer incidence and mortality rates in Japan signify need for new treatment options
(Nasdaq: GMAB) today announced that the Japan Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare has approved TIVDAK® (tisotumab vedotin) for the treatment of advanced or recurrent cervical cancer that has progressed on or after cancer chemotherapy. TIVDAK is the first and only ADC to be approved for people living with cervical cancer in Japan.
In recent years, cervical cancer incidence and mortality rates have increased in Japan, particularly among women under age 50.i,ii,iii Moreover, patients with recurrent or metastatic cervical cancer whose disease has progressed after first-line therapy have limited treatment options.
“Patients with advanced or recurrent cervical cancer, in general, have a poor prognosis. The advent of new treatment options, especially for second-line or later treatment, is much needed,” said Aikou Okamoto, M.D., Ph.D., Chief Professor, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at The Jikei University School of Medicine. “Cervical cancer treatment has advanced in recent years, but it is very meaningful that the approval of tisotumab vedotin as an ADC has increased the number of treatment options with a new mechanism of action that is expected to prolong overall survival. This is good news for patients and healthcare professionals.”
The approval is based on data from the randomized, open-label, global Phase 3 innovaTV 301 clinical trial that evaluated the efficacy and safety of TIVDAK compared to chemotherapy in patients with advanced or recurrent cervical cancer who were previously treated with chemotherapy. The trial included 502 patients, 101 of which were Japanese. The trial met its primary endpoint of overall survival (OS), demonstrating a 30% reduction in risk of death (HR: 0.70 [95% CI: 0.54-0.89], two-sided p=0.0038) compared to chemotherapy. Median OS was 11.5 months [95% CI: 9.8-14.9] among patients treated with TIVDAK compared to 9.5 months [95% CI: 7.9-10.7] for patients who received chemotherapy. Secondary endpoints of progression-free survival (PFS) and confirmed objective response rate (ORR) were also met.
Adverse drug reactions occurred in 219 (87.6%) of 250 patients (including 50 Japanese patients) treated with TIVDAK. The most common (≥20%) adverse reactions included conjunctivitis (n=76; 30.4%), nausea (n=73; 29.2%), peripheral sensory neuropathy (n=67; 26.8%), alopecia (n=61; 24.4%), and epistaxis (n=57; 22.8%), at the data cutoff date of July 24, 2023.
“As a company, we understand the urgent need for patients with advanced cervical cancer whose disease has progressed,” said Judith Klimovsky, M.D., Executive Vice President and Chief Development Officer of Genmab. “This approval marks an important step forward in transforming the treatment paradigm in Japan, ultimately bringing new hope and possibility to patients and their loved ones.”
About the innovaTV 301 Trial
The innovaTV 301 trial (NCT04697628) is a global, 1:1 randomized, open-label Phase 3 trial evaluating tisotumab vedotin versus investigator’s choice of single agent chemotherapy (topotecan, vinorelbine, gemcitabine, irinotecan or pemetrexed) in 502 patients with recurrent or metastatic cervical cancer who received one or two prior systemic regimens in the recurrent or metastatic setting.
Patients with recurrent or metastatic cervical cancer with squamous cell, adenocarcinoma or adenosquamous histology, and disease progression during or after treatment with chemotherapy doublet +/- bevacizumab and an anti-PD-(L)1 agent (if eligible) are included. The primary endpoint was overall survival. The main secondary outcomes were progression-free survival and objective response rate.
The study was conducted by Seagen, which was acquired by Pfizer in December 2023, in collaboration with Genmab, European Network of Gynaecological Oncological Trial Groups (ENGOT, study number ENGOT cx-12) and the Gynecologic Oncology Group (GOG) Foundation (study number GOG 3057), as well as other global gynecological oncology cooperative groups. For more information about the Phase 3 innovaTV 301 clinical trial and other clinical trials with tisotumab vedotin, please visit .
About Tisotumab Vedotin
Tisotumab vedotin (approved under the brand name TIVDAK® in the U.S. and Japan) is an antibody-drug conjugate (ADC) composed of Genmab’s human monoclonal antibody directed to tissue factor (TF) and Pfizer’s ADC technology that utilizes a protease-cleavable linker that covalently attaches the microtubule-disrupting agent monomethyl auristatin E (MMAE) to the antibody. Nonclinical data suggest that the anticancer activity of tisotumab vedotin is due to the binding of the ADC to TF-expressing cancer cells, followed by internalization of the ADC-TF complex and release of MMAE via proteolytic cleavage. MMAE disrupts the microtubule network of actively dividing cells, leading to cell cycle arrest and apoptotic cell death. In vitro, tisotumab vedotin also mediates antibody-dependent cellular phagocytosis and antibody-dependent cellular cytotoxicity.
About the Pfizer and Genmab Collaboration
Tisotumab vedotin is co-developed and co-commercialized globally by Genmab and Pfizer, under an agreement in which the companies share costs and profits.
With respect to the commercialization of tisotumab vedotin in previously treated recurrent or metastatic cervical cancer, Genmab leads commercialization in Japan and all other regions globally, outside the United States and China. In these regions, Pfizer partners with Genmab and Zai Lab, respectively, on commercialization.
About Genmab
Genmab is an international biotechnology company with a core purpose of guiding its unstoppable team to strive toward improving the lives of patients with innovative and differentiated antibody therapeutics. For more than 25 years, its passionate, innovative and collaborative team has invented next-generation antibody technology platforms and leveraged translational, quantitative and data sciences, resulting in a proprietary pipeline including bispecific T-cell engagers, antibody-drug conjugates, next-generation immune checkpoint modulators and effector function-enhanced antibodies. By 2030, Genmab’s vision is to transform the lives of people with cancer and other serious diseases with knock-your-socks-off (KYSO®) antibody medicines.
Established in 1999, Genmab is headquartered in Copenhagen, Denmark, with international presence across North America, Europe and Asia Pacific. For more information, please visit and follow us on and .
Contact:
Caitlin Craparo, Senior Director, Commercialization Communications
T: ; E:
Andrew Carlsen, Vice President, Head of Investor Relations
T: ; E:
This Media Release contains forward looking statements. The words “believe,” “expect,” “anticipate,” “intend” and “plan” and similar expressions identify forward looking statements. Actual results or performance may differ materially from any future results or performance expressed or implied by such statements. The important factors that could cause our actual results or performance to differ materially include, among others, risks associated with preclinical and clinical development of products, uncertainties related to the outcome and conduct of clinical trials including unforeseen safety issues, uncertainties related to product manufacturing, the lack of market acceptance of our products, our inability to manage growth, the competitive environment in relation to our business area and markets, our inability to attract and retain suitably qualified personnel, the unenforceability or lack of protection of our patents and proprietary rights, our relationships with affiliated entities, changes and developments in technology which may render our products or technologies obsolete, and other factors. For a further discussion of these risks, please refer to the risk management sections in Genmab’s most recent financial reports, which are available on and the risk factors included in Genmab’s most recent Annual Report on Form 20-F and other filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), which are available at . Genmab does not undertake any obligation to update or revise forward looking statements in this Media Release nor to confirm such statements to reflect subsequent events or circumstances after the date made or in relation to actual results, unless required by law.
Genmab A/S and/or its subsidiaries own the following trademarks: Genmab®; the Y-shaped Genmab logo®; Genmab in combination with the Y-shaped Genmab logo®; HuMax®; DuoBody®; HexaBody®; DuoHexaBody®, HexElect® and KYSO®.
i Cancer Statistics Cervix, National Cancer Center, Cancer Information Service, ganjoho.jp/reg_stat/statistics/stat/cancer/17_cervix_uteri.html#anchor1. Accessed 14 Feb. 2025.
ii Trends in Cancer Incidence and Mortality Rates, World Health Organization, gco.iarc.fr/overtime/en. Accessed 14 Feb. 2025.
iii For Correct Understanding of Cervical Cancer and HPV Vaccine, Japan Society of Obstetrics and Gynecology, /citizen/5765/. Accessed 14 Feb. 2025.
Media Release no. i06
CVR no. 2102 3884
LEI Code 529900MTJPDPE4MHJ122
Genmab A/S
Carl Jacobsens Vej 30
2500 Valby
Denmark
Attachment
