On September 03, 2018, the European Commission has granted marketing authorization for Cablivi" (caplacizumab) for the treatment of adults experiencing an episode of acquired thrombotic thrombocytopenic purpura (aTTP), a rare blood-clotting disorder. Cablivi is the first therapeutic specifically indicated for the treatment of aTTP1. Cablivi was designated an 'orphan medicine' (a medicine used in rare diseases) on April 30, 2009.
The approval of Cablivi in the EU is based on the Phase II TITAN and Phase III HERCULES studies in 220 adult patients with aTTP. The efficacy and safety of caplacizumab in addition to standard-of-care treatment, daily PEX and immunosuppression, were demonstrated in these studies. In the HERCULES study, treatment with caplacizumab in addition to standard-of-care resulted in a significantly shorter time to platelet count response (p<0.01), the study's primary endpoint; a significant reduction in aTTP-related death, recurrence of aTTP, or at least one major thromboembolic event during study drug treatment (p<0.0001); and a significantly lower number of aTTP recurrences in the overall study period (p<0.001). Importantly, treatment with caplacizumab resulted in a clinically meaningful reduction in the use of PEX and length of stay in the intensive care unit (ICU) and the hospital, compared to the placebo group.
Cablivi was developed by Ablynx, a Sanofi company. Sanofi Genzyme, the specialty care global business unit of Sanofi, will work with relevant local authorities to make Cablivi available to patients in need in countries across Europe.
About aTTP
aTTP is a life-threatening, autoimmune blood clotting disorder characterized by extensive clot formation in small blood vessels throughout the body, leading to severe thrombocytopenia (very low platelet count), microangiopathic hemolytic anemia (loss of red blood cells through destruction), ischemia (restricted blood supply to parts of the body) and widespread organ damage especially in the brain and heart.
About Cablivi
Caplacizumab blocks the interaction of ultra-large von Willebrand Factor (vWF) multimers with platelets and, therefore, has an immediate effect on platelet adhesion and the ensuing formation and accumulation of the micro-clots that cause the severe thrombocytopenia, tissue ischemia and organ dysfunction in aTTP2.
Note - Caplacizumab is a bivalent anti-vWF Nanobody that received Orphan Drug Designation in Europe and the United States in 2009, in Switzerland in 2017 and in Japan in 2018. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has accepted for priority review the Biologics License Application for caplacizumab for treatment of adults experiencing an episode of aTTP. The target action date for the FDA decision is February 6, 2019.
Footnotes
1 http://hugin.info/152918/R/2213684/863478.pdf
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