Real-World Data Show Effectiveness of Icatibant for HAE

Researchers discovered that icatibant is a safe and effective treatment for a broad range of patients with hereditary angioedema (HAE), as published in Clinical & Experimental Allergy.

HAE is a disease characterized by unpredictable and recurrent edema attacks. These attacks can occur frequently throughout life, resulting in significant mental distress among patients with this disease.

Researchers have investigated a number of ways to target the kallikrein-kinin pathway and the bradykinin B2 receptor. One such drug is icatibant, which is a potent and selective bradykinin B2 receptor antagonist. 

In 2009, scientists initiated the Icatibant Outcome Survey. It was an ongoing, international registry for patients who had received at least 1 icatibant injection. By 2019, the registry contained 549 patients with HAE-1/2 who had been treated for 5995 angioedema attacks.

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This survey, given that it was initiated more than a decade ago, has yielded important data regarding the efficacy of icatibant in treating HAE. Importantly, this survey encompasses 13 countries around the globe. It was also conducted according to the principles contained in the International Conference on Harmonization Good Clinical Practice Guidelines and the Declaration of Helsinki.

The Icatibant Outcome Survey has demonstrated that the median time to attack resolution using icatibant as treatment is around 6 hours. The self-administration of the drug rose from a mere 25% in 2009 to 96.2% in 2018. 

Icatibant treatment has also been discovered to have an acceptable safety profile. Among the 75 adverse events reported, most were mild. There were 6 hypersensitivity events, which resulted in itchiness and erythema on the abdomen upon administration of the drug. No icatibant-related deaths have been reported. 

“Data collected in [the Icatibant Outcome Survey] over 10 years have helped inform clinical strategies/guidelines to optimize disease management and limit disease burden,” the authors of the study said.

Reference

Maurer M, Aberer W, Caballero T, et al. The Icatibant Outcome Survey: 10 years of experience with icatibant for patients with hereditary angioedema. Clin Exp Allergy. Published online July 21, 2022. doi:10.1111/cea.14206