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The Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use (CHMP) of the European Medicines Agency (EMA) recommended approval of the macrocyclic, high-relaxivity Vueway (Gadopiclenol) in adults and pediatric patients older than 2 years of age.

Bracco Imaging S.p.A. received notification that the Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use (CHMP) of the European Medicines Agency (EMA) has adopted a positive opinion recommending approval of Vueway® (Gadopiclenol) solution for injection for magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) for use in adult and pediatric patients aged 2 years and older with magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of the CNS (brain, spine, and surrounding tissues) and several body organs (liver, kidney, pancreas, breast, lung, prostate, and musculoskeletal system). The European Commission is expected to issue its decision by the end of 2023.

Vueway (Gadopiclenol), is a new macrocyclic gadolinium-based contrast agent (GBCA), very stable and with the highest relaxivity among all the other GBCAs on the market today 1, so its approved dose is exactly half of that approved for other macrocyclic GBCAs for similar indications2. It was approved by the United States Food and Drug Administration (US FDA) in September 2022.

The high relaxivity of Vueway has shown to allow an improvement of its risk-benefit profile by reducing exposure without compromising imaging performance” said Alberto Spinazzi, MD, Chief Medical and Regulatory Officer at Bracco Imaging “Vueway will provide healthcare professionals with an important new option for their patients, as well as for the environment. We eagerly anticipate its arrival to the European market.

The CHMP opinion is based on the results from two prospective, large-scale, randomized, double-blind, crossover clinical studies, PICTURE and PROMISE, conducted in more than 500 adult patients undergoing contrast-enhanced MRI and aimed at comparing the safety and efficacy of 0.05 mmol/kg Gadopiclenol compared with 0.1 mmol/kg Gadobutrol.3,4 The PICTURE trial demonstrated comparable diagnostic efficacy at half dose in MRI of the central nervous system,5 the PROMISE trial in MRI of the head and neck, chest, breast, liver, pancreas, pelvis organs, and the musculoskeletal system.6

Gadopiclenol offers a two-to-three-fold higher relaxivity than available GBCAs1 for use with any MRI scanner, regardless of field strength. The contrast agent’s macrocyclic structure also confers high stability.7 The end result is adequate diagnostic efficacy at a Vueway dose which lower than those approved for other macrocyclic GBCAs in clinical use2, while minimizing the risk of gadolinium retention in brain and body tissues, and possibly reducing the release of gadolinium in the environment.7

1. Robic C, Port M, Rousseaux O, et al. Physicochemical and Pharmacokinetic Profiles of Gadopiclenol: A New Macrocyclic Gadolinium Chelate With High T1 Relaxivity. Invest Radiol 2019; 54: 475-484.

2. https://www.hpra.ie/img/uploaded/swedocuments/Licence_PA0686-003002_15052023150215.pdf

https://www.medicines.org.uk/emc/product/14787/smpc

https://www.medicines.org.uk/emc/product/2876/smpc

https://www.lakemedelsverket.se/sv/sok-lakemedelsfakta/lakemedel?id=20211118000026

https://www.medicines.org.uk/emc/product/349/smpc#gref

3. https://clinicaltrials.gov/study/NCT03986138?intr=gadopiclenol&rank=8

4. https://clinicaltrials.gov/study/NCT03996447?intr=gadopiclenol&rank=9

5. Loevner LA, Kolumban B, Hutóczki G, et al. Efficacy and Safety of Gadopiclenol for Contrast-Enhanced MRI of the Central Nervous System: The PICTURE Randomized Clinical Trial. Invest Radiol. 2023; 58:307-313

6. Kuhl C, Csőszi T, Piskorski W, Miszalski T, Lee JM, Otto PM. Efficacy and Safety of Half-Dose Gadopiclenol versus Full-Dose Gadobutrol for Contrast-enhanced Body MRI. Radiology 2023; 308: e222612

7. Runge VM and Heverhagen, JT. Advocating the Development of Next-Generation High-Relaxivity Gadolinium Chelates for Clinical Magnetic Resonance. Invest Radiol. 2018 Jul;53(7):381-389