Cheshire’s Alexion Pharmaceuticals said it has started a multinational, placebo-controlled clinical trial to evaluate how its drug Soliris could prevent a complication that can arise after a kidney transplant.
The trail will evaluate the safety and efficacy of Soliris in preventing delayed graft function, a complication that affects as much as half of deceased-donor transplant patients.
Patients afflicted by DGF require dialysis to survive.
Soliris is approved for two rare blood and kidney disorders — paroxysmal nocturnal hemoglobinuria and atypical hemolytic uremic syndrome — in multiple countries, but is not yet approved anywhere for the prevention of DGF after kidney transplantation. Soliris brought in $1.55 billion in sales in 2013.
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