Baxter gets approval for ultra-high haemophiliac drug dose

The FDA has approved its haemophiliac drug Advate for ultra-high doses for the prevention and control of bleeding in patients with type-A haemophilia, according to Baxter Healthcare.

The company says that a variety of dosages are needed for haemophiliacs because of the individual needs of patients. It claims that patients who need higher doses will benefit from the new ultra-high category, which is 2,000 international units, as it will reduce the volume needed to be absorbed by patients, the time it takes and the amount of space it takes up.

Joy Amundson, president of Baxter’s bioscience division, said: “We heard from the community that there was a need for more choices in dosage strengths for haemophilia therapies.”

“Therefore, we are proud to offer the ultra-high dosage strength of Advate, providing patients with one more reason to choose Advate, the therapy people with haemophilia have come to rely on.”

Baxter claims that Advate is the only plasma/albumin-free recombinant factor VIII drug available for the treatment of type-A haemophilia.

The UK’s Haemophilia Society estimates that there are approximately 6,000 haemophiliacs in Britain. Before 1986, blood-clotting agents derived from blood donations were not heated to destroy viruses, leaving 1,200 patients infected with HIV with almost all of those infected simultaneously with hepatitis C. The Haemophiliac Society stated that half of those patients have already died.

© Adfero Ltd