Inpharma 1395 - 12 Jul 2003

■ Tailored pharmacokinetic dosing of IVα1-antitrypsin augmentation therapy "markedlyreduces" the annual drug cost among patients withα1-antitrypsin deficiency in Sweden, report researchersfrom that country. They used a computer simulation tochange the dosage regimens among five such patientswith emphysema who were receiving IV augmentationwith human α1-antitrypsin [‘Prolastin’]; the dosagechanged from 120 mg/kg every two weeks to 1–2gtwice weekly. The new dosage decreased the annualmedian α1-antitrypsin consumption from 286g to 156gper patient and allowed the treatment to take place athome. Among four patients who went ahead with thenew home-based therapy, the annual total drug costfell by SEK780 000,* a saving of 30%.* Swedish kronor

Piitulainen E, et al. Tailored pharmacokinetic dosing allows self-administrationand reduces the cost of IV augmentation therapy with human alpha-(1)-antitrypsin. European Journal of Clinical Pharmacology 59: 151-156, Jun2003 800947189

1

Inpharma 12 Jul 2003 No. 13951173-8324/10/1395-0001/$14.95 Adis © 2010 Springer International Publishing AG. All rights reserved