We have written about the anatomy of an HAE attack before. It’s a living nightmare.
HAE is a rare genetic disorder. It is characterized by recurring, unexplained, severe swelling underneath the skin. We call these HAE attacks. These attacks might have triggers from stress or an injury, but often times they occur for no reason. To learn more, click here.
Thankfully, Shire released some good news on Monday about a Phase III Trial of a treatment called SHP616. In the study, 75 patients who had at least two attacks per month for three months straight, were treated with SHP616 or a placebo.
When compared to those who took a placebo, the patients being treatment with SHP616 experienced significantly less attacks. In fact, 38% of patients were attack free! Initially, patients saw a 79% reduction rate in attacks, and then after two weeks, they saw an even greater reduction rate of 85%. Just as important, 78% of participants had half the amount of attacks or less. Side effects included headache and upper respiratory infections, though not all participants had those.
This study represents hard work researchers (and dare I say it, even big pharma) are doing for our neglected diseases. This is a promising effective treatment for those suffering from a horrific rare condition and we are hoping it gets FDA approved soon! Don’t worry, we will definitely keep you posted.
