Baxter to process Aralast

Baxter has announced that the processing of Aralast (alpha1-proteinase inhibitor) is to be transferred from a third party entirely to the firm. This transfer follows approval from the US Food and Drug Administration.

Aralast, or A1P1, is indicated as a chronic augmentation treatment in hereditary emphysema patients, a condition resulting from a lack of A1P1 – a compound produced in the liver – present in the lungs.

Patients with this deficiency exhibit reduced serum levels of the protein that protects lung tissue from damage caused by enzymes produced by white blood cells in the body.

“Without sufficient quantities of A1PI, patients develop lung damage,” the company reports.

“If untreated, A1PI deficiency can result in emphysema and premature death.”

The firm predicts that over 95 per cent of patients with this deficiency are currently undiagnosed.

In May 2004, Baxter presented clinical trial data at the annual meeting of the American Thoracic Society showing that administration with Aralast in hereditary emphysema patients could potentially result in a positive impact on the life expectancy of these individuals.

Depending on smoking status and gender, the increase in life expectancy displayed by patients receiving augmentation therapy with Aralast ranged from 5.93 to 10.6 years.