Alexion Pharmaceuticals Presents Data On Soliris

Alexion PharmaceuticalsSoliris (eculizumab) developed by Alexion, a first-in-class terminal complement inhibitor, was found to reduce hemolysis and transfusion requirements, and improved measures of fatigue, when added to ongoing immunosuppressive therapy (IST) in patients with both paroxysmal nocturnal hemoglobinuria (PNH) and bone marrow insufficiency (BMI), including aplastic anemia (AA).

The study showed that patients with BMI and PNH, in which Soliris treatment was added to ongoing immunosuppressive therapy, experienced a substantial reduction in hemolysis and fatigue, and subsequent morbidities.

Soliris is the first therapy approved for the treatment of patients with PNH, to reduce hemolysis.

Reportedly, the researchers conducted a post-hoc analysis of data in the Soliris PNH controlled clinical trials database to evaluate the safety and efficacy of Soliris in a population of patients receiving concomitant IST. The database included a total of 195 patients, of which 17 were receiving IST.

Patients were subdivided into two treatment groups those patients who commenced Soliris treatment during ongoing IST and patients who commenced IST during ongoing Soliris treatment. The clinical endpoints measured included lactase dehydrogenase (LDH) level as a measurement of hemolysis, number of transfusions, hemoglobin (Hgb) level, and functional assessment of chronic illness therapy-fatigue (FACIT-Fatigue) score. Patients were followed and results were reported for months prior to and during Soliris treatment.