THURSDAY, July 26, 2018 (HealthDay News) — A small-molecule inhibitor of plasma kallikrein, BCX7353, results in a significantly lower rate of hereditary angioedema attacks compared with placebo, according to a study published in the July 26 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine.
Emel Aygören-Pürsün, M.D., from University Hospital Frankfurt in Germany, and colleagues randomized 77 patients with type I or II hereditary angioedema with a history of at least two angioedema attacks per month to BCX7353 (at four doses: 62.5, 125, 250, and 350 mg) or placebo. Seventy-two of the patients completed the trial.
The researchers found that patients who received BCX7353 at daily doses of 125 mg or more had a significantly lower rate of confirmed angioedema attacks compared with those who received placebo, with a 73.8 percent difference at 125 mg. The 125- and 250-mg groups had significant benefits with respect to quality-of-life scores. The most commonly reported adverse events were gastrointestinal adverse events, mainly grade 1, especially in the two highest BCX7353-dose groups.
The study was funded by BioCryst Pharmaceuticals, the manufacturer of BCX7353.