On November 27, 2009, ecallantide was approved by the FDA for the treatment of acute attacks of hereditary angioedema for persons over 16 years of age.[3] A single dose requires three separate injections, which are given under the skin.[4]
Ecallantide does not appear to be efficacious for the treatment of angioedema due to ACE inhibitors.[5][6]
As of 2011[update], no interaction studies have been conducted.[7]
Mechanism of action
HAE is caused by a mutation of the C1-inhibitor gene. Defective or missing C1-inhibitor permits activation of kallikrein, a protease that is responsible for liberating bradykinin from its precursor kininogen.[8][9] An excess of bradykinin leads to fluid leakage from blood vessels, causing swelling of tissues typical of HAE.
Ecallantide suppresses this pathogenetic mechanism by selectively and reversibly inhibiting the activity of plasma kallikrein.[7] Ecallantide's inhibitory constant (Ki) for kallikrein is 25 picoMolar, indicating high affinity.[10]
^ abLehmann A (August 2008). "Ecallantide (DX-88), a plasma kallikrein inhibitor for the treatment of hereditary angioedema and the prevention of blood loss in on-pump cardiothoracic surgery". Expert Opinion on Biological Therapy. 8 (8): 1187–99. doi:10.1517/14712598.8.8.1187. PMID18613770. S2CID72623604.
^2013 Nurse's Drug Handbook (12th ed.). Burlington, MA: Jones & Bartlett Publishers. 2013. p. 391. ISBN978-1-284-19536-1.
^Lewis LM, Graffeo C, Crosley P, Klausner HA, Clark CL, Frank A, et al. (February 2015). "Ecallantide for the acute treatment of angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitor-induced angioedema: a multicenter, randomized, controlled trial". Annals of Emergency Medicine. 65 (2): 204–13. doi:10.1016/j.annemergmed.2014.07.014. PMID25182544.
^Scalese MJ, Reinaker TS (June 2016). "Pharmacologic management of angioedema induced by angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors". American Journal of Health-System Pharmacy. 73 (12): 873–9. doi:10.2146/ajhp150482. PMID27261237.