The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) has approved CSL’s Andembry (garadacimab) to prevent angioedema attacks in hereditary angioedema (HAE) patients aged 12 years and older.
Occurring in approximately one in every 50,000 people in the UK, HAE is a rare and potentially life-threatening genetic condition that causes fluid to build up throughout the body, triggering recurrent and unpredictable attacks of painful swelling.
Despite the availability of effective therapies, the disease remains incurable and patients may experience attacks in the first weeks and months from the start of treatment.
The MHRA’s decision on Andembry was based on positive results from the late-stage VANGUARD trial, in which the drug reduced HAE attacks rates from a mean of 2.01 attacks per month at baseline to a mean of 0.27 per month after six months of treatment.
Additionally, 62% of Andembry-treated patients achieved attack-free status throughout the treatment period, and the drug was shown to reduce the median number of HAE attacks to zero and lower the mean number of HAE attacks per month by 86.5% compared to placebo.
Results from VANGUARD’s open-label extension study also supported the approval.
Andembry is a recombinant monoclonal antibody designed to target a plasma protein that plays a crucial role in initiating attacks of swelling in HAE patients. It is delivered as a subcutaneous injection via a pre-filled pen and may be self-administered or administered by a caregiver following appropriate training.
The drug, which will be marketed by the CSL Behring business unit, will now be evaluated by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) to determine whether it will be reimbursed for use on the NHS.
Eduardo Cabas, general manager, CSL Behring UK and Ireland, said: “We are excited that the MHRA has licensed [Andembry] and look forward to working with NICE throughout the technology appraisal process.”
Also commenting on the approval, Angela Metcalfe, chief executive officer of patient support group HAE UK, said: “HAE can affect almost every aspect of a patient’s life so HAE UK welcomes the MHRA’s decision, as any further treatment options that become available to patients will potentially offer an improvement of life for those eligible.”