Baxter receives new storage approval for Advate

Healthcare group Baxter has been granted approval from the European Union regarding its storage of blood clotting treatment Advate.

The company, which has its UK base in Surrey, confirmed that permission from the Commission of the European Communities means that Advate can now be stored for up to two months at room temperature.

According to Baxter, the new ruling will enable patients with the bleeding disorder haemophilia to transport the factor VIII treatment without a large chiller unit and will also allow people to store the product safely within the home.

“This is another important milestone in our ongoing development of Baxter’s haemophilia products,” remarked the company’s business unit manager, David Youds.

He added that the approval will ensure the company can offer “additional flexibility” to both haemophiliacs and their care assistants in terms of their treatment routines.

As a blood clotting treatment, Advate can be infused directly into patients’ bloodstreams and temporarily increases the level of factor VIII and so enabling the blood to clot correctly.

Launched in 2004, Advate was developed in response to appeals from people with haemophilia for a therapy without using any human or animal plasma in order to reduce the risks of infection.