As per findings from the ADVANCE IV clinical trial, which was carried out worldwide, including at Georgetown University Medical Center, patients consuming efgartigimod, a medication being studied for use to treat chronic primary immune thrombocytopenia, demonstrated a significantly greater improvement in platelet counts, which are essential for clotting and stopping bleeding, compared to those taking a placebo.
The study findings were presented in a plenary session of the annual meeting of the American Society of Hematology in new Orleans on December 11 this year by Catherine Broom, M.D Associate Professor of medicine at Georgetown and main investigator in the international ADVANCE IV study. Regarding the powerful advantages of efgartigimod as a treatment for ITP, the results of the ADVANCE IV study provide an important answer.
The annual rate of freshly identified cases of ITP in the US is expected to be about 3.3 new cases per one lakh people in the general population. ITP is more prevalent in females between adolescence and 60 years of age. The most common side effects of the drug include bruising, headache, blood in the urine and rash-like symptoms on the skin related to bleeding. But there are no serious side effects due to the treatment.