Patient-reported improvements in paroxysmal nocturnal hemoglobinuria treated with iptacopan from 2 phase 3 studies

Journal Name
Blood Advances
Primary Author
Risitano AM
Author(s)
Risitano AM, de Castro C, Han B, Kulasekararaj A, Maciejewski JP, Scheinberg P, Ueda Y, Vallow S, Bermann G, Dahlke M, Kumar R, Peffault de Latour R
Original Publication Date

Iptacopan: FABHALTA, a complement factor B inhibitor, is the first oral medication approved to treat adults with paroxysmal nocturnal hemoglobinuria (PNH). It was approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in December 2023. Fabhalta is taken twice a day in a capsule form. What is FABHALTA? … , a first-in-class, oral, selective complement factor B inhibitor, demonstrated efficacy and safety as monotherapy in C5 inhibitor (C5i)-experienced (APPLY-PNH; NCT04558918) and C5i-naive (APPOINT-PNH; NCT04820530) patients with paroxysmal nocturnal hemoglobinuria: (par-uk-SIZ-muhl nok-TURN-uhl hee-muh-gloe-buh-NYOOR-ee-uh) A rare and serious blood disease that causes red blood cells to break apart. Paroxysmal means sudden and irregular. Nocturnal means at night. Hemoglobinuria means hemoglobin in the urine. Hemoglobin is the red part of red blood cells. A… (PNH). In the APPLY-PNH and APPOINT-PNH trials, changes in fatigue (Functional Assessment of Chronic Illness: A medical condition that lasts a long time. A chronic illness can affect a person's lifestyle, ability to work, physical abilities and independence. Therapy-Fatigue [FACIT-Fatigue]) and health-related quality of life (HRQOL; European Organisation for Research and Treatment of Cancer Quality of Life Questionnaire [EORTC QLQ-C30]) from baseline to day 168 were evaluated. The proportion of patients achieving meaningful within-patient change (MWPC) on the FACIT-Fatigue and 4 EORTC QLQ-C30 subscales was evaluated using anchor-based thresholds, and correlations between FACIT-Fatigue scores, lactate dehydrogenase: (LAK-tate dee-high-DROJ-uh-nase) An enzyme found in the blood and in many of the body's organs. High levels of LDH in the blood can mean that red blood cells are breaking apart (hemolysis) or that there is tissue damage in the body. It is important for patients with paroxysmal nocturnal… (LDH), and hemoglobin: A protein in the red blood cells. Hemoglobin picks up oxygen in the lungs and brings it to cells in all parts of the body. (Hb) levels were assessed. In APPLY-PNH (iptacopan, n = 62; C5i, n = 33), more patients in the iptacopan versus the C5i group reached the MWPC threshold for FACIT-Fatigue (51% vs 11%). More patients achieved MWPC on EORTC QLQ-C30 subscales in the iptacopan group (39%-49%) versus the C5i group (9%-20%). In APPOINT-PNH (N = 40), 56% achieved MWPC on the FACIT-Fatigue, and the proportion of patients who achieved MWPC on the EORTC QLQ-C30 ranged from 41% to 55%. In C5i-experienced patients, increased Hb levels correlated with improvement in FACIT-Fatigue scores (R = 0.48); in C5i-naive patients, increased Hb (R = 0.42) and decreased LDH (R = -0.53) (all P < .001) correlated with improved FACIT-Fatigue scores. C5i-experienced and -naive patients receiving iptacopan exhibited meaningful improvement in fatigue, HRQOL, and disease-related symptoms, which correlated with clinical improvement in hematologic markers of disease control.

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