Exjade cuts thalassemia iron build up in organs

Interim study results show that Novartis' once-daily Exjade (deferasirox) reduces iron build-up in key organs in patients who undergo repeated blood transfusions as part of their treatment for thalassemia.

The Swiss drug major noted that approximately 78% of Exjade patients had decreases in myocardial iron and 89% had reductions in liver iron after six months of treatment.

In addition, Novartis says new long-term data from two other studies show that thalassemia patients benefit from treatment with Exjade. At two years, in a study of 247 patients, the binding agent significantly reduced iron toxicity in patients who had been previously treated with the alternative iron chelators desferrioxamine and/or deferiprone. Results from a separate analysis of 680 heavily-transfused thalassemia patients support the efficacy and safety of Exjade seen over 3.5 years.