General Information

Padcev (enfortumab vedotin-ejfv) is a Nectin-4-directed antibody and microtubule inhibitor conjugate.

Padcev is specifically indicated for the treatment of adult patients with locally advanced or metastatic urothelial cancer (mUC) who have previously received a programmed death receptor-1 (PD-1) or programmed death-ligand 1 (PD-L1) inhibitor, and a platinum-containing chemotherapy in the neoadjuvant/adjuvant, locally advanced or metastatic setting. Also approved for patients who are ineligible for cisplatin-containing chemotherapy and have previously received one or more prior lines of therapy.

Padcev is supplied as a solution for intravenous administration. The recommended dose of Padcev is 1.25 mg/kg (up to a maximum of 125 mg for patients ≥100 kg) administered as an intravenous infusion over 30 minutes on Days 1, 8 and 15 of a 28-day cycle until disease progression or unacceptable toxicity.

Mechanism of Action

Padcev (enfortumab vedotin-ejfv) is an ADC. The antibody is a human IgG1 directed against Nectin-4, an adhesion protein located on the surface of cells. The small molecule, MMAE, is a microtubule-disrupting agent, attached to the antibody via a protease-cleavable linker. Nonclinical data suggest that the anticancer activity of enfortumab vedotin-ejfv is due to the binding of the ADC to Nectin-4-expressing cells, followed by internalization of the ADC-Nectin-4 complex, and the release of MMAE via proteolytic cleavage. Release of MMAE disrupts the microtubule network within the cell, subsequently inducing cell cycle arrest and apoptotic cell death.  

Side Effects

Adverse effects associated with the use of Padcev may include, but are not limited to, the following:

•  fatigue
• peripheral neuropathy
• decreased appetite
• rash
• alopecia
• nausea
• dysgeusia
• diarrhea
• dry eye
• pruritus
• dry skin

Clinical Trial Results

This indication is approved under accelerated approval based on tumor response rate. Continued approval for this indication may be contingent upon verification and description of clinical benefit in confirmatory trials.

Padcev was approved based on the results of a clinical trial that enrolled 125 patients with locally advanced or metastatic urothelial cancer who received prior treatment with a PD-1 or PD-L1 inhibitor and platinum-based chemotherapy. The major efficacy outcome measures were confirmed objective response rate (ORR) and duration of response (DOR) assessed by blinded independent central review (BICR) using RECIST v1.1. The overall response rate, reflecting the percentage of patients who had a certain amount of tumor shrinkage, was 44%, with 12% having a complete response and 32% having a partial response. The median duration of response was 7.6 months.