scholarly journals Caplacizumab in adult patients with acquired thrombotic thrombocytopenic purpura

2020 ◽  
Vol 11 ◽  
pp. 204062072090290 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ashley Hanlon ◽  
Ara Metjian
Keyword(s):  
Clinical Trials ◽  
Thrombotic Thrombocytopenic Purpura ◽  
Immune Suppression ◽  
Fatal Disease ◽  
Thrombocytopenic Purpura ◽  
A1 Domain ◽  
Von Willebrand ◽  
Willebrand Factor ◽  
Adhesion Of Platelets ◽  
Novel Agent

Thrombotic thrombocytopenic purpura (TTP) is usually a fatal disease caused by a deficiency of the metalloproteinase, ADAMTS13, often due to autoimmunity. This leads to the development of pathogenic multimers of von Willebrand factor (vWF), causing an inappropriate interaction of platelets and vWF. This results in a thrombotic microangiopathy, which is treated with therapeutic plasma exchange and immune suppression. Although this treatment has reduced the mortality of TTP to only about 20%, there have been no recent significant advances in the treatment of TTP. Recently, a novel agent has been approved for use in TTP. Caplacizumab, which binds to the A1 domain of vWF, prevents the adhesion of platelets to vWF. It is a first in-class ‘nanobody’, that in clinical trials has shown marked efficacy in treating TTP and its complications. This review will discuss the development and implications of caplacizumab in the treatment of TTP.

scholarly journals Caplacizumab for Acute Thrombotic Thrombocytopenic Purpura

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Katherine V. Katsivalis, PharmD ◽  
Jaime Thomas, PharmD
Keyword(s):  
Plasma Exchange ◽  
Thrombotic Thrombocytopenic Purpura ◽  
Thromboembolic Event ◽  
Immunosuppressive Agents ◽  
Standard Of Care ◽  
Thrombocytopenic Purpura ◽  
Specialty Pharmacy ◽  
A1 Domain ◽  
Von Willebrand ◽  
Willebrand Factor

Acute thrombotic thrombocytopenic purpura (aTTP) is a rare microangiopathic hemolytic anemia. Standard of care currently includes plasma exchange and immunosuppressive agents, including glucocorticoids, vincristine, and rituximab. Even with these therapies, relapse occurs in 36% of patients, and mortality ranges from 10% to 20%. Caplacizumab is a novel agent approved for the treatment of adult patients with aTTP in conjunction with plasma exchange and immunosuppressive therapies. It works by binding to the A1 domain of von Willebrand factor (VWF), blocking platelets from binding to VWF and aggregating. In clinical trials, patients who received caplacizumab compared with placebo were more likely to have a normalization of their platelet count, a lower rate of recurrence, and a lower incidence of the composite of aTTP-related death, recurrence, or major thromboembolic event. The side effect profile is rather benign and includes epistaxis, headache, and gingival bleeding. Caplacizumab is only available through specialty pharmacy services due to its high cost. Providers should be aware of and prepared for the prior authorization process required to assist their patients in gaining access to the medication. Currently, there is no formal consensus regarding caplacizumab’s place in therapy for patients with aTTP, but it remains an option for refractory cases.

Glycoprotein V-Deficient Platelets Have Undiminished Thrombin Responsiveness and Do Not Exhibit a Bernard-Soulier Phenotype

Blood ◽  
1999 ◽  
Vol 94 (12) ◽  
pp. 4112-4121 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mark L. Kahn ◽  
Thomas G. Diacovo ◽  
Dorothy F. Bainton ◽  
Francois Lanza ◽  
JoAnn Trejo ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Wild Type ◽  
Spontaneous Bleeding ◽  
Atp Secretion ◽  
Platelet Receptor ◽  
High Concentrations ◽  
And Function ◽  
A1 Domain ◽  
Von Willebrand ◽  
Willebrand Factor ◽  
Adhesion Of Platelets

Abstract Adhesion of platelets to extracellular matrix via von Willebrand factor (vWF) and activation of platelets by thrombin are critical steps in hemostasis. Glycoprotein (GP) V is a component of the GPIb-V-IX complex, the platelet receptor for vWF. GPV is also cleaved by thrombin. Deficiency of GPIb or GPIX results in Bernard-Soulier syndrome (BSS), a bleeding disorder in which platelets are giant and have multiple functional defects. Whether GPV-deficiency might also cause BSS is unknown as are the roles of GPV in platelet-vWF interaction and thrombin signaling. We report that GPV-deficient mice developed normally, had no evidence of spontaneous bleeding, and had tail bleeding times that were not prolonged compared with wild-type mice. GPV-deficient platelets were normal in size and structure as assessed by flow cytometry and electron microscopy. GPV-deficient and wild-type platelets were indistinguishable in botrocetin-mediated platelet agglutination and in their ability to adhere to mouse vWF A1 domain. Platelet aggregation and ATP secretion in response to low and high concentrations of thrombin were not decreased in GPV-deficient platelets compared with wild-type. Our results show that (1) GPV is not necessary for GPIb expression and function in platelets and that GPV deficiency is not likely to be a cause of human BSS and (2) GPV is not necessary for robust thrombin signaling. Whether redundancy accounts for the lack of phenotype of GPV-deficiency or whether GPV serves subtle or as yet unprobed functions in platelets or other cells remains to be determined.

scholarly journals Cost effectiveness of caplacizumab in acquired thrombotic thrombocytopenic purpura

Blood ◽  
2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
George Goshua ◽  
Pranay Sinha ◽  
Jeanne Elise Hendrickson ◽  
Christopher A Tormey ◽  
Pavan Bendapudi ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Cost Effectiveness ◽  
Thrombotic Thrombocytopenic Purpura ◽  
Von Willebrand Factor ◽  
Organ Damage ◽  
Hospital Length Of Stay ◽  
Sensitivity Analyses ◽  
Thrombocytopenic Purpura ◽  
Von Willebrand ◽  
Willebrand Factor ◽  
Relapse Rates

Acquired thrombotic thrombocytopenic purpura (TTP) is a life-threatening disease characterized by thrombotic microangiopathy leading to end-organ damage. The standard of care (SOC) treatment is therapeutic plasma exchange (TPE) alongside immunomodulation with steroids, with increasing use of rituximab +/- other immunomodulatory agents. The addition of caplacizumab, a nanobody targeting von Willebrand factor, was shown to accelerate platelet count recovery and reduce TPE treatments and hospital length of stay in TTP patients treated in the TITAN and HERCULES trials. The addition of caplacizumab to SOC also led to increased bleeding due to transient reductions in von Willebrand factor and increased relapse rates. Using data from TITAN and HERCULES on caplacizumab, we performed the first-ever cost effectiveness analysis in TTP. Over a 5-year period, the projected incremental cost effectiveness ratio (ICER) in our Markov model was $1,482,260, significantly above the accepted 2019 US willingness-to-pay of $195,300. One-way sensitivity analyses showed the utility of the well state and the cost of caplacizumab to have the largest effects on ICER, with a reduction in caplacizumab cost demonstrating the greatest impact on lowering the ICER. In a probabilistic sensitivity analysis, SOC was favored over caplacizumab in 100% of 10,000 iterations. Our data indicate that the addition of caplacizumab to SOC in treatment of acquired TTP is not cost effective due to the high cost of the medication and its failure to improve relapse rates. The potential impact of caplacizumab on health system cost using longer-term follow-up data merits further study.

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