Indication
Gamifant® (emapalumab-lzsg) is an interferon gamma (IFNγ)–blocking antibody indicated for the treatment of adult and pediatric (newborn and older) patients with primary... hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis (HLH) with refractory, recurrent, or progressive disease or intolerance with conventional HLH therapy.
Important Safety Information
Infections
Before initiating Gamifant, patients should be evaluated for infection, including latent tuberculosis (TB)... Prophylaxis for TB should be administered to patients who are at risk for TB or known to have a positive purified protein derivative (PPD) test result or positive IFNγ release assay.
Indication
Gamifant® (emapalumab-lzsg) is an interferon gamma (IFNγ)–blocking antibody indicated for the treatment of adult and pediatric (newborn and older) patients with primary hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis (HLH) with refractory, recurrent, or progressive disease or intolerance with conventional HLH therapy.
Important Safety Information
Infections
Before initiating Gamifant, patients should be evaluated for infection, including latent tuberculosis (TB). Prophylaxis for TB should be administered to patients who are at risk for TB or known to have a positive purified protein derivative (PPD) test result or positive IFNγ release assay.
During Gamifant treatment, patients should be monitored for TB, adenovirus, Epstein-Barr virus (EBV), and cytomegalovirus (CMV) every 2 weeks and as clinically indicated.
Patients should be administered prophylaxis for herpes zoster, Pneumocystis jirovecii, and fungal infections prior to Gamifant administration.
Increased Risk of Infection With Use of Live Vaccines
Do not administer live or live attenuated vaccines to patients receiving Gamifant and for at least 4 weeks after the last dose of Gamifant. The safety of immunization with live vaccines during or following Gamifant therapy has not been studied.
Infusion-Related Reactions
Infusion-related reactions, including drug eruption, pyrexia, rash, erythema, and hyperhidrosis, were reported with Gamifant treatment in 27% of patients. In one-third of these patients, the infusion-related reaction occurred during the first infusion.
Adverse Reactions
In the pivotal trial, the most commonly reported adverse reactions (≥10%) for Gamifant included infection (56%), hypertension (41%), infusion-related reactions (27%), pyrexia (24%), hypokalemia (15%), constipation (15%), rash (12%), abdominal pain (12%), CMV infection (12%), diarrhea (12%), lymphocytosis (12%), cough (12%), irritability (12%), tachycardia (12%), and tachypnea (12%).
Additional selected adverse reactions (all grades) that were reported in less than 10% of patients treated with Gamifant included vomiting, acute kidney injury, asthenia, bradycardia, dyspnea, gastrointestinal hemorrhage, epistaxis, and peripheral edema.
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References
- Jordan MB, Allen CE, Weitzman S, Filipovich AH, McClain KL. How I treat hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis. Blood. 2011;118(15):4041-4052. doi: https://doi.org/10.1182/blood-2011-03-278127.
- Marsh RA, Haddad E. How I treat primary haemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis. Br J Haematol. 2018;182(2):185-199. doi: 10.1111/bjh.15274.
- Sepulveda F, de Saint Basile G. Hemophagocytic syndrome: primary forms and predisposing conditions. Curr Opin Immunol. 2017; 49:20-26. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.coi.2017.08.004.
- Lehmberg K, Nichols KE, Henter J-I, et al. Consensus recommendations for the diagnosis and management of hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis associated with malignancies. Haematologica. 2015:100(8):997-1004.
- Gamifant [prescribing information]. Stockholm, Sweden: Swedish Orphan Biovitrum AB.
Primary HLH is rapidly progressive and fatal if untreated1
Primary hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis (HLH) is a rare genetic disease characterized by life-threatening inflammatory symptoms.1,2 Though primary HLH can affect adults and teenagers, the majority of patients are very young children—often in the first months or years of their lives.1,3 Due to the rapidly progressive nature of the disease, immediate therapy is required to temper the “cytokine storm”—a massive release of cytokines that leads to the signs and symptoms of primary HLH.1,4
Without timely diagnosis and effective treatment, the median survival for patients with primary HLH is under 2 months.1
symptoms
Primary HLH presents as a heterogeneous syndrome of rapidly progressive, life-threatening inflammatory symptoms, including1,2:
- Persistent high fevers (above 102°F, lasting 4-41 days)
- Infection
- Rashes
- Hepatosplenomegaly
- Liver function impairment
- Jaundiced appearance
- Seizures and central nervous system involvement
- Hyperferritinemia
- Coagulation defects
- Severe cytopenia
- Pulmonary dysfunction
THE FACTS AND FEATURES OF PRIMARY HLH
To date, general consensus in the scientific community on primary HLH is as follows1,3:
| PRIMARY HLH | |
|---|---|
| Mortality rate | High mortality rate |
| Clinical presentation | Heterogeneous |
| Age of presentation | Typically infants/early childhood; documented cases also exist in teens and adults |
| Cause | Testable genetic mutation |
| Family history | May be positive for the disease |
| Recurrence | Likely |
| Resolution | Usually requires hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) |