Pegloticase (trade name Krystexxa) is a medication for the treatment of severe, treatment-refractory, chronic gout. It is a third line treatment in those in whom other treatments are not effective or are not tolerated.[2] The drug is administered by infusion intravenously. Since October 2023, Amgen Inc. has been the marketer of pegloticase in the U.S.

Pegloticase
Clinical data
Trade namesKrystexxa, Puricase
AHFS/Drugs.comMonograph
MedlinePlusa611015
License data
Routes of
administration
Intravenous infusion
ATC code
Legal status
Legal status
Pharmacokinetic data
BioavailabilityN/A
Elimination half-life10–12 days
Identifiers
CAS Number
IUPHAR/BPS
DrugBank
ChemSpider
  • none
UNII
KEGG
ChEMBL
Chemical and physical data
FormulaC1549H2430N408O448S8
Molar mass34193.37 g·mol−1
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It was developed by Savient Pharmaceuticals.[3][4] It was approved in the United States in 2010, after two clinical trials found it lowered uric acid levels and reduced deposits of uric acid crystals in joints and soft tissue. The European Medicines Agency (EMA) granted marketing authorization in 2013 for treatment of disabling tophaceous gout. In 2016 this authorization was ended at the request of Horizon Therapeutics PLC in Europe.[5]

Medical uses

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It is an option for the 3% of people with gout who are intolerant of or nonresponsive to other medications.[6] Pegloticase is given as an intravenous infusion every two weeks,[6] and has been found to reduce uric acid levels in this population.[7] There is moderate quality evidence that It is useful for tophi but has a high rate of side effects and withdrawals due to adverse events.[8] About 40% of people develop resistance to the medication over time.[2] Co-administration of methotrexate increases the response rate approximately two-fold.

Side effects

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In individuals with glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase deficiency, pegloticase may precipitate a severe, life-threatening hemolysis with methemoglobinemia; it is therefore contraindicated in such individuals. Pegloticase may also show immunogenicity, which can be diminished by co-administration with methotrexate.[9]

Mechanism of action

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Pegloticase is a PEGylated recombinant porcine-like uricase. Similarly to rasburicase, it metabolises uric acid to allantoin. This reduces the risk of urate precipitates, since allantoin is five to ten times more soluble than uric acid.

In contrast to rasburicase, pegloticase is PEGylated to increase its elimination half-life from about eight hours to ten to twelve days, and to decrease the immunogenicity of the foreign uricase protein. This modification allows for a dosing interval of two to four weeks, increasing its suitability for long-term treatment.[10]

Chemistry

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Pegloticase is a tetrameric protein composed of four identical chains of about 300 amino acids each. Approximately ten of the 30 lysine residues in each chain are PEGylated. These PEG chains consist of about 225 ethylene glycol units each (10 kg/mol PEG).[3]

References

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  1. ^ "FDA-sourced list of all drugs with black box warnings (Use Download Full Results and View Query links.)". nctr-crs.fda.gov. FDA. Retrieved 22 Oct 2023.
  2. ^ a b Dalbeth N, Merriman TR, Stamp LK (October 2016). "Gout". Lancet. 388 (10055): 2039–2052. doi:10.1016/s0140-6736(16)00346-9. PMID 27112094. S2CID 208790780.
  3. ^ a b "Pegloticase" (PDF). Statement on a nonproprietary name adopted by the USAN Council. Archived from the original (PDF) on 4 June 2011.
  4. ^ "Savient Pharmaceuticals: Uricase". Archived from the original on 2006-07-10. Retrieved 2009-03-29.
  5. ^ "Krystexxa Withdrawal of the marketing authorisation in the European Union" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 26 March 2017. Retrieved 25 March 2017.
  6. ^ a b "FDA approves new drug for gout". FDA. September 14, 2010.
  7. ^ Sundy JS, Baraf HS, Yood RA, Edwards NL, Gutierrez-Urena SR, Treadwell EL, et al. (August 2011). "Efficacy and tolerability of pegloticase for the treatment of chronic gout in patients refractory to conventional treatment: two randomized controlled trials". JAMA. 306 (7): 711–720. doi:10.1001/jama.2011.1169. hdl:10342/7960. PMID 21846852.
  8. ^ Sriranganathan MK, Vinik O, Pardo Pardo J, Bombardier C, Edwards CJ (August 2021). "Interventions for tophi in gout". The Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews. 8 (8): CD010069. doi:10.1002/14651858.CD010069.pub3. PMC 8406833. PMID 34379791.
  9. ^ Abraham J. Domb, Neeraj Kumar (2 August 2011). Biodegradable Polymers in Clinical Use and Clinical Development. John Wiley & Sons. ISBN 9781118015803.
  10. ^ Biggers K, Scheinfeld N (April 2008). "Pegloticase, a poly(ethylene glycol) conjugate of uricase for the potential intravenous treatment of gout". Current Opinion in Investigational Drugs. 9 (4): 422–429. PMID 18393109.
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