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Back to Hematology Articles
Friday 26th May, 2006
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Costly IVIg may be replaced with
synthetic product allowing better treatment for
patients with life-threatening illness.
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Toronto, ON– Patients suffering from a life-threatening bleeding
disorder are closer to having access to a more effective
treatment.
Alan Lazarus, Canadian Blood Services scientist and
adjunct scientist at St. Michael's Hospital in Toronto, is
deciphering how a blood-derived product called IVIg (intravenous
immunoglobulin) currently works, and as a result has developed a
synthetic replacement product that shows promise in laboratory
testing. This synthetic could be the stepping stone to replacing
IVIg which is used to treat a variety of conditions, including
ITP (idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpura), a disease that can
cause uncontrolled bleeding, and sometimes even death.
As will be published in the June edition of the scientific
journal Nature Medicine, Lazarus' research team has made great
strides in determining how IVIg works, a major milestone in the
study of this product. They have also found evidence that a
synthetic replacement for IVIg could be developed that would not
only be cheaper and easier to produce in mass quantities, but
could also lead to more effective treatments for patients.
Lazarus says, "this work unravels some of the mystery
surrounding how IVIg functions in patients with ITP, and will
allow us to develop new and more powerful therapeutics in the
future. In addition, this discovery should allow for a more
consistent product with less side-effects than the IVIg
currently in use."
ITP is an autoimmune disorder that causes the immune system
to send signals to the spleen to remove platelets from the body.
Many patients with ITP rely on frequent transfusions of IVIg in
order to prevent bleeding. "Patients suffering with ITP require
IVIg to prevent or control bleeding, but we don't know how it
works. Dr. Lazarus' research finding brings us one step closer
to understanding how we can develop better treatments for these
patients, and how best to use this treatment in patients with
other autoimmune disorders, not only ITP," says Dr. Heather
Hume, Executive Director of Transfusion Medicine at Canadian
Blood Services.
Patients like Liliane Keryluk in Ottawa have relied on IVIg
for treatment. She has suffered from ITP, and is very hopeful
that new, more effective and safer treatments may be developed
as a result of Dr. Lazarus' research. "While I understand that
this research is still in early stages, I am very excited that
an important step forward has been made in the treatment of my
disease, and for the thousands of others who also suffer from
ITP," says Liliane.
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Canadian hospitals currently spend approximately $130 million on
IVIg every year, for the treatment of various diseases,
including ITP. This plasma-derived blood component, manufactured
and distributed by Canadian Blood Services, is in limited supply
and is a major expense for the blood system. Cost-savings aside,
switching to a synthetic replacement product would also be a
major benefit to the Canadian blood system, as it would free-up
a large quantity of plasma making it more readily available for
use in other treatments.
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