WASHINGTON, Dec 3, 2009 (UPI via COMTEX) -- The U.S. Food and Drug
Administration says it has approved a drug called Kalbitor to treat people
suffering from hereditary angioedema.
The FDA said the rare genetic disease causes a sudden and potentially
life-threatening fluid buildup due to a defect in a blood protein that helps
regulate how certain immune system and blood clotting pathways function. Doctors
said decreased function of the protein can lead to rapid and serious swelling of
the face or other parts of the body, which may result in excruciating abdominal
pain, nausea, permanent disfigurement, disability or death by suffocation.
Kalbitor (ecallantide) is the second drug marketed in the United States to treat
the disease, the FDA said. Kalbitor is a liquid that is intended to be injected
under the skin by a doctor for patients 16 and older.
The drug is marketed by the Dyax Corp. of Cambridge, Mass.
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Copyright 2009 by United Press International