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For the clinical development of a new drug, the determination of dose-proportionality is an essential part of the pharmacokinetic evaluations, which may provide early indications of non-linear pharmacokinetics and may help to identify sub-populations with divergent clearances. Prior to making any conclusions regarding dose-proportionality, the goodness-of-fit of the model must be assessed to evaluate the model performance. We propose the use of simulation-based visual predictive checks to improve the validity of dose-proportionality conclusions for complex designs. We provide an illustrative example and include a table to facilitate review by regulatory authorities.

Introduction In patients with haemophilia A undergoing surgery, factor VIII (FVIII) replacement therapy by continuous infusion (CI) may offer an alternative to bolus infusion (BI). Aim To compare the perioperative haemostatic efficacy and safety of antihaemophilic factor (recombinant) (ADVATE®; Baxalta US Inc., a Takeda company, Lexington, MA, USA) CI or BI administration. Methods In this multicentre, phase III/IV, controlled study (NCT00357656), 60 previously treated adult patients with severe or moderately severe disease undergoing elective unilateral major orthopaedic surgery (knee replacement, n = 48; hip surgery, n = 4; other, n = 8) requiring drain placement were randomized to receive antihaemophilic factor (recombinant) CI (n = 29) or BI (n = 31) through postoperative day 7. Primary outcome measure was cumulative packed red blood cell (PRBC)/blood volume in the drainage fluid within 24 h after surgery, used to establish non‐inferiority of CI to BI. Results CI:BI ratio of cumulative PRBC volume in the 24‐h drainage fluid was 0.92 (p‐value

Introduction Primary factor VIII (FVIII) prophylaxis is the optimal treatment in children with severe haemophilia A. They are expected to benefit from extended half-life (T1/2) FVIII coverage by reduced infusion frequency while maintaining haemostatic efficacy. Aims To determine immunogenicity, pharmacokinetics (PK), efficacy, safety and quality of life of prophylaxis with a polyethylene glycol (peg)-ylated FVIII (BAX 855) based on full-length recombinant FVIII (ADVATE) in paediatric previously treated patients (PTPs) with severe haemophilia A. Methods PTPs

This article proposes a new multiple-testing approach for estimation of the minimum effective dose allowing for non-monotonous dose–response shapes. The presented approach combines the advantages of two commonly used methods. It is shown that the new approach controls the error rate of underestimating the true minimum effective dose. Monte Carlo simulations indicate that the proposed method outperforms alternative methods in many cases and is only marginally worse in the remaining situations.

Summary. The most problematic complication of haemophilia A treatment is the development of inhibitors to FVIII. The highest risk of developing inhibitors is during the first 20 exposure days (EDs). If the patient can be brought through this high risk period without inhibitor development, the subsequent risk is low. Therefore, as a pilot project, we developed a prophylaxis regimen for the first 20‐50 EDs specifically designed to induce tolerance to the administered FVIII and to minimize inhibitor development by avoiding immunological danger signals. Twenty-six consecutive previously untreated patients (PUPs) with severe haemophilia A were treated with the new prophylaxis regimen and the incidence of inhibitor development in this group was compared with that in a historical control group of 30 consecutive PUPs treated with a standard joint protection prophylaxis regimen (40‐50 IU kg )1 , three times a week). There were no significant differences between the study and control groups in patient-related inhibitor risk factors such as ethnicity (all Caucasian), severity of haemophilia (all

Background and Objectives The aim of this study was to evaluate the pharmacokinetics, efficacy and safety of a newly developed 10% liquid immunoglobulin preparation in patients with primary immunodeficiency diseases. This new preparation for intravenous use includes three dedicated virus clearance steps in its manufacturing process to ensure a high margin of viral safety. Materials and Methods This was a prospective, open-label, non-controlled, multicentre study. Twenty-two subjects with primary immunodeficiency were treated initially with three infusions of a licensed intravenous immunoglobulin to standardize the immunoglobulin G (IgG) replacement therapy of all subjects to the same intravenous product. A total of nine infusions of the new 10% liquid preparation were subsequently administered. Results The median terminal half-life of total IgG following administration of the new preparation was 30.1 days. Median terminal half-lives for IgG subclasses IgG(1), IgG(2), IgG(3) and IgG(4) were 28.3, 31.3, 20.9 and 24.2 days, respectively. The median total serum IgG steady-state trough level was 8.51 g/l. No severe infection episodes started after initiation of treatment with the new preparation. The median rate of mild or moderate infection episodes was 0.48 per month. A total of 194 infusions with the new 10% liquid immunoglobulin preparation were administered. The mean dose per infusion was 0.41 g/kg body weight and the maximum infusion rates recorded were 8 ml/kg/h. Adverse experiences were mostly mild and unrelated to the study drugs. Only 4% of infusions with the new product were followed by one or more related adverse experiences. Conclusion The new 10% liquid immunoglobulin preparation was well tolerated and shown to have an excellent pharmacokinetic, efficacy and safety profile. The liquid formulation provides convenience to patients and healthcare professionals. (Less)

Patients with severe forms of von Willebrand disease (vWD) most frequently require substitution of both factor VIII and von Willebrand factor (vWF). Immunate is a high-purity, double-virus inactivated FVIII/vWF concentrate derived from human plasma. The clinical efficacy of Immunate concerning the management of acute bleeding episodes and surgical prophylaxis in patients with von Willebrand disease (vWD) is being investigated and documented in a prospective, phase III, open-label, single-armed multicenter trial. Data on its pharmacokinetics are collected, and the product's safety with respect to adverse experiences is monitored.