Givosiran, sold under the brand name Givlaari, is a

medication Medication (also called medicament, medicine, pharmaceutical drug, medicinal product, medicinal drug or simply drug) is a drug used to medical diagnosis, diagnose, cure, treat, or preventive medicine, prevent disease. Drug therapy (pharmaco ...

used for the treatment of adults with acute

hepatic porphyria Hepatic porphyrias is a form of porphyria in which toxic porphyrin molecules build up in the liver. Hepatic porphyrias can result from a number of different enzyme deficiencies. Examples include (in order of synthesis pathway): * Acute intermitten ...

. Givosiran is a

small interfering RNA Small interfering RNA (siRNA), sometimes known as short interfering RNA or silencing RNA, is a class of double-stranded RNA, double-stranded non-coding RNA, non-coding RNA, RNA molecules, typically 20–24 base pairs in length, similar to microR ...

(siRNA) directed towards delta-aminolevulinate synthase 1 (ALAS1), an important enzyme in the production of

heme Heme (American English), or haem (Commonwealth English, both pronounced /Help:IPA/English, hi:m/ ), is a ring-shaped iron-containing molecule that commonly serves as a Ligand (biochemistry), ligand of various proteins, more notably as a Prostheti ...

. The most common side effects include nausea and injection site reactions. The U.S.

Food and Drug Administration The United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA or US FDA) is a List of United States federal agencies, federal agency of the United States Department of Health and Human Services, Department of Health and Human Services. The FDA is respo ...

(FDA) considers it to be a

first-in-class medication A first-in-class medication is a prototype drug that uses a "new and unique mechanism of action" to treat a particular medical condition. While the Food and Drug Administration's Center for Drug Evaluation and Research tracks first-in-class medic ...

Medical uses

Givosiran is

indicated In medicine, an indication is a valid reason to use a certain test, medication, procedure, or surgery. There can be multiple indications to use a procedure or medication. An indication can commonly be confused with the term diagnosis. A diagnosis ...

for the treatment of adults with acute

, a genetic disorder resulting in the buildup of toxic

porphyrin Porphyrins ( ) are heterocyclic, macrocyclic, organic compounds, composed of four modified pyrrole subunits interconnected at their α carbon atoms via methine bridges (). In vertebrates, an essential member of the porphyrin group is heme, w ...

molecules which are formed during the production of heme (which helps bind oxygen in the blood).

History

In November 2019, givosiran was approved in the United States for the treatment of adults with acute hepatic porphyria (AHP). Efficacy was evaluated in ENVISION (NCT03338816), a randomized, double‑blind, placebo‑controlled, multinational trial enrolling 94 participants with acute hepatic porphyria. Participants were randomized (1:1) to receive once monthly subcutaneous injections of givosiran 2.5 mg/kg or placebo during a six‑month double‑blind period. The performance of givosiran was measured by the rate of porphyria attacks that required hospitalizations, urgent health care visits or intravenous infusion of hemin at home. Participants who received givosiran experienced 70% fewer porphyria attacks compared to patients receiving a placebo. The U.S.

(FDA) granted the application for givosiran

breakthrough therapy Breakthrough therapy is a United States Food and Drug Administration designation that expedites drug development that was created by Congress under Section 902 of the 9 July 2012 Food and Drug Administration Safety and Innovation Act. The FDA's "b ...

designation,

priority review Priority review is a program of the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to expedite the review process for drugs that are expected to have a particularly great impact on the treatment of a disease. The priority review voucher program ...

designation, and

orphan drug An orphan drug is a medication, pharmaceutical agent that is developed to treat certain rare medical conditions. An orphan drug would not be profitable to produce without government assistance, due to the small population of patients affected by th ...

designation. The FDA granted the approval of Givlaari to

Alnylam Pharmaceuticals Alnylam Pharmaceuticals, Inc. is an American biopharmaceutical company focused on the discovery, development and commercialization of RNA interference (RNAi) therapeutics for genetically defined diseases. The company was founded in 2002 and is he ...

References

External links

* {{Authority control Orphan drugs small interfering RNA