Arrives in Italy fostamatinib, drug for the treatment of chronic immune thrombocytopenia (Itp) in adult patients refractory to other therapies. To announce its availability in our country, in France and in Spain, reimbursed by the respective health services, is Grifols, one of the three main world producers of plasma-derived medicines, underlines a note from the company.
Fostamatinib is the first and only inhibitor of the spleen tyrosine kinase (Syk) indicated in adult patients with chronic ITP who have had an insufficient response to previous treatment. It is the only targeted agent that reduces the destruction of platelets, essential for the purpose of blood clotting and healing by the immune system. With fostamatinib we have the first new class of drugs for the treatment of chronic Itp in over a decade, which responds to the unmet needs of patients living with this disease and which are estimated at over 200 thousand worldwide.
“The availability of fostamatinib represents an important milestone for patients suffering from chronic immune thrombocytopenia and thrombotic risk, as they have an alternative therapeutic option available in case of relapse or failure to respond to first-line therapies – says Francesco Zaja, director of the Complex Structure of Clinical Hematology of the Giuliano Isontina University Healthcare Unit, at the Maggiore hospital in Trieste – The drug acts against an important mechanism of the pathogenesis of Itp and is a selective inhibitor of Syk. Furthermore, being an oral therapy whose bioavailability is not altered by food, fostamatinib is simple to administer and significantly improves patients’ quality of life. ”
At the beginning of 2020 – the note recalls – the European Commission approved fostamatinib for the treatment of Itp in adult patients refractory to other therapies. The drug is already available in Germany and the UK, as part of a planned phased rollout across the rest of Europe in the coming months, which will soon include the Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, Norway and Sweden. The treatment is also available in the United States.
“It’s about the first oral therapy of the Biosciences Division, Grifols flagship, launched in Europe – says Thierry Heinrich, vice president of the commercial division of Bioscience for Europe – Over time the company plans to further strengthen its portfolio, leading in the sector, through further and innovative agreements for the acquisition of licenses for the treatment of existing and emerging diseases, in order to offer benefits to patients and further therapeutic alternatives to health professionals “.
Thanks to a collaboration and licensing agreement signed with the US Rigel Pharmaceuticals in January 2019, Grifols holds the exclusive rights in Europe and Turkey for fostamatinib in chronic Itp, as well as in any potential future indication, such as autoimmune hemolytic anemia (Aiha). and IgA nephropathy (IgAn).