Dyax Corp announced that the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has granted approval for Kalbitor (ecallantide) for the treatment of acute attacks of hereditary angioedema (HAE) in patients 16 years of age and older.

HAE is a rare, genetic disorder characterized by severe, debilitating and often painful swelling, which can occur in the abdomen, face, hands, feet and airway. Kalbitor, a potent, selective and reversible plasma kallikrein inhibitor discovered and developed by Dyax, is the first subcutaneous HAE treatment approved in the US.

As part of product approval, Dyax has, together with the US FDA, established a Risk Evaluation and Mitigation Strategy (REMS) programme to communicate the risk of anaphylaxis and the importance of distinguishing between a hypersensitivity reaction and HAE attack symptoms.

“The approval of Kalbitor represents an important milestone in our ongoing commitment to the HAE community,” said Gustav A Christensen, president and chief executive officer of Dyax. “Furthermore, bringing Kalbitor to market validates our mission to discover, develop, and commercialize innovative biopharmaceuticals for unmet medical needs.”

“By specifically affecting a key mediator of the inflammation, pain and edema that are characteristic of HAE attacks, Kalbitor may be advantageous in offering physicians a targeted approach for treating acute attacks,” said professor Jonathan Bernstein, department of internal medicine, division of immunology/allergy, at the University of Cincinnati College of Medicine. “Additionally, the subcutaneous route of administration and efficacy in treating acute attacks in patients 16 years of age and older, regardless of anatomic location, make Kalbitor an important treatment option.”

HAE attacks, which occur on average more than 20 times yearly, are unpredictable and range in progression and severity. An acute episode may occur in one or more anatomical sites, sometimes moving from one site to another. “HAE is a highly unpredictable disease because most attacks occur spontaneously with no identifiable trigger. Kalbitor will provide patients 16 years of age and older and their physicians with an US FDA-approved subcutaneous therapy for treating painful and debilitating HAE acute attacks,” stated Anthony J Castaldo, president of the United States Hereditary Angioedema Association (HAEA), a nonprofit patient advocacy organization that represents approximately 6,500 HAE patients in the United States.