Novartis has developed the breakthrough therapy that will allow patients receiving blood transfusions to be administered iron chelation from a drink rather than the current therapy from infusion.
Iron chelation is needed to help patients with thalassemia, sickle cell disease, and other anemias who regularly receive transfusions. The transfusions lead to a build up of iron that is not naturally removed by the human body. Exjade will be able to remove the iron from key organs such as the liver and heart.
Exjade is the first oral iron chelator approved in the EU for use in patients with transfusional iron overload, who have a wide range of underlying diseases.
Novartis said that despite standard iron chelation being widely available, patients often avoid the treatment as the current medication requires daily infusions by pump and often lasts eight to 12 hours.
“This is also the first oral treatment available for transfusional iron overload where the dose response effect on iron balance has been systematically studied on a scale not previously undertaken with iron chelation therapy,” said Prof John Porter at Department of Haematology at the University College London.