News

At least 800 people representing some 45 countries are soon expected to gather in Austria’s capital city, Vienna, for ECRD 2018, the 9th European Conference on Rare Diseases and Orphan Products. The May 10-12 meeting is sponsored by Eurordis, the Paris-based group that defines itself as a “patient-driven alliance”…

A marketing authorization application for Lanadelumab, Shire‘s investigational therapy for hereditary angioedema (HAE), was recently cleared by the Swiss Agency for Therapeutic Products (Swissmedic), the company announced. Supported by data from four clinical trials, acceptance of the marketing authorization application signals that the formal review process of the…

Patients who develop angioedema symptoms after receiving stroke medication, and are not responsive to first-line angioedema therapy, may benefit from Firazyr (icatibant), a recent case report suggests. “Icatibant for the treatment of orolingual angioedema following the administration of tissue plasminogen activator” was published in The American Journal of…

Levels of complement proteins — proteins of the immune system — may predict disease activity in patients with hereditary angioedema with C1 inhibitor deficiency (C1-INH-HAE), according to Japanese researchers. Their study, “The relationship between complement levels and disease activity in Japanese family cases of hereditary angioedema with C1-INH…

In a Phase 3 clinical trial in Germany, the therapy Xolair (omalizumab) was shown to improve the quality of life and psychological well-being of chronic idiopathic urticaria (CIU) patients with angioedema who were resistant to treatment with antihistamines. Results were highlighted in the study, “Omalizumab rapidly improves angioedema-related…

A little-known government entity within the National Institutes of Health (NIH) is helping to lead U.S. efforts to speed up the development of therapies for some 7,000 rare diseases. The Office of Rare Diseases Research (ORDR), headquartered in Bethesda, Maryland, was established in 1993 within the NIH Office of the…

Angioedema can develop, although rarely, in people after they’ve been given angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitors, sometimes years after the therapy is initially administered, according to a new case report. The report, titled “Angioedema Two Weeks After the Initial Administration of an ACE Inhibitor,” was published in…

A newly identified mutation in the plasminogen (PLG) gene is associated with a characteristic hereditary angioedema (HAE) phenotype and may represent a new HAE subtype, a German study reports. The research, “A missense mutation in the plasminogen gene, within the plasminogen kringle 3 domain, in hereditary…

The European Medicines Agency (EMA) will begin an accelerated review of Shire’s lanadelumab, a treatment candidate to prevent hereditary angioedema (HAE) swelling attacks, the company announced. This follows the EMA’s acceptance of Shire’s marketing authorization application (MAA) for the potential therapy, which reduces the number of days…

In rare cases, people with either lymphoma or a non-cancerous blood condition can develop acquired angiodema without hives, a case study reports. The hallmark of the non-cancerous condition, monoclonal gammopathy, is abnormal antibodies in the blood. Hives are red welts on the skin. Angioedema is a condition that normally involves…