Clinical Pharmacology for Obizur
Mechanism Of Action
OBIZUR temporarily replaces the inhibited endogenous factor VIII that is needed for effective hemostasis in patients with acquired hemophilia A.
Pharmacodynamics
Patients with acquired hemophilia A (AHA) have normal factor VIII genes but develop autoantibodies against their own factor VIII (i.e., inhibitors). These autoantibodies neutralize circulating human factor VIII and create a functional deficiency of this procoagulant protein. AHA results in a prolonged clotting time as measured by the activated partial thromboplastin time (aPTT) assay, a conventional in vitro test for biological activity of factor VIII. Treatment with OBIZUR should normalize the aPTT during treatment; however, aPTT normalization should not be used as a measure of efficacy.
Pharmacokinetics
A formal pharmacokinetic study of OBIZUR in patients diagnosed with AHA has not been conducted. There are insufficient pharmacokinetic data in patients treated with OBIZUR.
Clinical Studies
The efficacy of OBIZUR for the treatment of serious bleeding episodes in subjects with acquired hemophilia A was investigated in a prospective, open-label trial (N=29). The trial was conducted in 18 Caucasian, 6 African-American, and 5 Asian subjects diagnosed with acquired hemophilia A (AHA), having auto-immune inhibitory antibodies to human factor VIII, and experiencing serious bleeding episodes that required hospitalization. Subjects with a prior history of bleeding disorders other than AHA, anti-porcine factor VIII antibody titer >20 Bethesda Units (BU), or in whom the bleeding episode was judged likely to resolve on its own were excluded. One subject was considered evaluable at study entry; however, it was later determined that this subject did not have AHA, leaving 28 subjects evaluable for efficacy.
An initial dose of 200 units per kg OBIZUR was administered to subjects for the treatment of life- or limb-threatening initial bleeding episodes. Patients were treated with OBIZUR until resolution of bleeding or dosing was continued at the physician’s discretion according to the clinical assessment. These bleeding episodes included 19 intramuscular or joint bleeding episodes, 4 post-surgical bleeding episodes, 2 intracranial episodes, 2 surgeries, 1 retroperitoneal hemorrhage, and 1 periorbital bleed. Hemostatic response was assessed by the study site investigator at specified time points after initiation of OBIZUR treatment using a pre-specified rating scale that was based on subjective clinical assessments combined with objective factor VIII activity levels achieved. An assessment of effective or partially effective was considered as a positive response (see Table 3 for definitions).
Table 3 : Response to OBIZUR Treatment Evaluation
| Assessment of efficacy |
Control of bleeding |
Clinical Assessment |
Factor VIII levels |
Response |
| Effective |
bleeding stopped |
clinical control |
≥50% |
positive |
| Partially effective |
bleeding reduced |
clinical stabilization or improvement; or alternative reason for bleeding |
≥20% |
positive |
| Poorly effective |
bleeding slightly reduced or unchanged |
not clinically stable |
<50% |
negative |
| Not effective |
bleeding worsening |
Clinically deteriorating |
<20% |
negative |
Of the 28 subjects evaluable for efficacy, all subjects had a positive response to treatment for the initial bleeding episodes at 24 hours after dosing. A positive response was observed in 95% (19/20) of subjects evaluated at 8 hours and 100% (18/18) at 16 hours.
In addition to response to treatment, the overall treatment success was determined by the investigator based on his/her ability to discontinue or reduce the dose and/or dosing frequency of OBIZUR. A total of 24/28 (86%) had successful treatment of the initial bleeding episode. Of those subjects treated with OBIZUR as first-line therapy, defined as no immediate previous use of anti-hemorrhagic agents prior to the first OBIZUR treatment, 16/17 (94%) had eventual treatment success reported. Eleven subjects were reported to have received anti-hemorrhagics (e.g., rFVIIa, activated prothrombin-complex concentrate, tranexamic acid) prior to first treatment with OBIZUR. Of these 11 subjects, eight had eventual successful treatment (73%).
The median dose per infusion to successfully treat the primary bleeding episode was 133 units per kg and a median total dose of 1523 units per kg. In the initial 24-hour period, a median of 3 infusions (median dose 200 U/kg) were utilized in the clinical study. When treatment was required beyond 24 hours, a median of 10.5 infusions (median dose 100 U/kg) were given for a median of 6 days to control a bleeding episode.