Access to Elocta for Hemophilia A Expanding in UK, Sobi Says

People with hemophilia A in the U.K. will soon have greater access to Elocta (efmoroctocog alfa) under a two-year agreement between Sobi and the National Health Service (NHS), the company announced.

Elocta was approved by the European Commission for the treatment and prevention of bleeding in all hemophilia A patients in 2015. The cost of its use is reimbursed via NHS England, Sobi reported in a press release.

In the U.S. and Canada, among other countries, this therapy is marketed as Eloctate by Sanofi.

“Today’s announcement is exciting news for the haemophilia A community in the UK. The agreement ensures continued and increased access to Elocta for people living with haemophilia A of all ages and all severities,” Philip Wood, head of Northern Europe at Sobi, said in the release.

Elocta is a recombinant clotting factor therapy designed as an extended half-life therapy to stay in the body for a long period and enable less frequent injections. Such feature could increase treatment adherence, improve outcomes, and enable more active lifestyles, according to Sobi.

The medication is made by fusing factor VIII to the Fc portion of a protein called immunoglobulin G subclass 1 (IgG1). As a commonly found protein in the body, IgG1 enables Elocta to act through a naturally occurring biological pathway to extend the duration of its effects in the body.

Prophylactic, or preventive, injections of factor VIII are intended to provide the missing or defective clotting protein in people with hemophilia A. This approach is recommended by the World Federation of Hemophilia as the optimal treatment strategy to prevent both bleeding and joint damage.

Under a previous agreement, access to Elocta was restricted to a limited volume for many  hemophilia A patients in the U.K. The new agreement, which starts in July and lasts for two years with an option to extend for another two years, eases such restrictions so that doctors can prescribe the treatment as they think best, Sobi stated.

According to the British Society for Haematology, prophylactic treatment should be individualized to suit daily activity.

“Our Liberate Life vision means putting people living with haemophilia and how they want to lead their lives at the front of clinical decision making. People with haemophilia should feel able to live more active lives, through an approach tailored to their specific needs, activity levels and aspirations,” Wood said.