Antibody biologic administered 14 infusions cut sickle cell crises from 2.98/yr to 1.63/year.
Ataga, Kenneth I., et al.
Crizanlizumab for the Prevention of Pain Crises in Sickle Cell Disease.
New England Journal of Medicine (2016) in press
http://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMoa1611770
- 198 cases – high-dose crizanlizumab (5.0 mg per kilogram), or placebo
- 14 times over a period of 52 weeks
- high-dose crizanlizumab – median rate of crises per year was 1.63
placebo – 2.98 ( a 45.3% lower rate with high-dose crizanlizumab, P=0.01) - “Adverse events that occurred in 10% or more of the patients in either active-treatment group and at a frequency that was at least twice as high as that in the placebo group were arthralgia, diarrhea, pruritus, vomiting, and chest pain.”
Comment – disappointing it wasn’t better considering so many infusions and probably considerable cost but at least something