74% of ITP patients achieve platelet response on Nplate

US biotechnology firm Amgen reported strong data from an ongoing, open-label extension study of Nplate (romiplostim) in chronic immune thrombocytopenic purpura, a serious autoimmune low-platelet disorder sometimes leading to serious bleeding.

Presented at the 50th annual meeting of the American Society of Hematology, the trial results showed that, overall, 74% of patients achieved a response defined as a platelet count of 50,000 platelets per microliter and doubling of the baseline platelet count (median:17,000 platelets per microliter). A response was achieved by 30% of patients after the first dose and by 47% after the third.

Additional key findings from the study show that platelet counts of Nplate-treated patients were increased from baseline by 20,000 platelets per microliter more than 80% of the time in 47% of patients and more than half the time in 67% of subjects.