Publications by authors named "Morag Griffin"

Complement C5 inhibitor treatment with ravulizumab or eculizumab for paroxysmal nocturnal hemoglobinuria (PNH) improves outcomes and survival. Some patients remain anemic due to clinically significant extravascular hemolysis (cs-EVH: hemoglobin [Hgb] ≤9.5 g/dL and absolute reticulocyte count [ARC] ≥120×109/L).

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Immunosuppressive therapy (IST) using horse antithymocyte globulin (h-ATG) combined with cyclosporine (CsA) and eltrombopag is the standard care for aplastic anemia (AA) in patients without a suitable matched donor. However, in many countries, h-ATG use has been discontinued, leaving rabbit ATG (r-ATG), which has a lower response rates and poorer survival, as the only alternative. In previous studies, alemtuzumab (ALZ), a humanized monoclonal antibody targeting CD52, combined with CsA resulted in an adequate ORR in AA patients.

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Patients with paroxysmal nocturnal hemoglobinuria (PNH) experience complement-mediated intravascular hemolysis leading to anemia, fatigue, and potentially life-threatening thrombotic complications. Pegcetacoplan, a C3 inhibitor, demonstrated sustained improvements in hematologic and clinical parameters in the phase 3 PEGASUS trial in patients with PNH who remained anemic despite C5 inhibitor therapy. The present post hoc analysis describes 26 hemolysis adverse events (AEs) experienced in 19 patients during pegcetacoplan therapy in PEGASUS and baseline patient characteristics potentially associated with increased hemolysis risk.

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Article Synopsis
  • - PNH is a serious condition that leads to blood issues, and pegcetacoplan is a new therapy that targets a specific part of the immune system to help treat it; clinical trials show it works well and is safe for patients.
  • - In a follow-up study (307 OLE), 137 patients who received pegcetacoplan showed significant improvements in hemoglobin levels and reduced fatigue, with most not needing blood transfusions over the study period.
  • - Results indicated 40.2% of patients achieved hemoglobin levels above 12 g/dL, and while some experienced hemolysis, there were no major complications like blood clots or infections reported.
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  • Iptacopan, an oral factor B inhibitor, shows promise in treating paroxysmal nocturnal hemoglobinuria patients suffering from persistent hemolytic anemia, especially those not responding to anti-C5 therapy.
  • In two phase 3 trials, iptacopan significantly improved hemoglobin levels in patients with low baseline hemoglobin (under 10 g/dL), with many experiencing increases of at least 2 g/dL without needing blood transfusions.
  • The results revealed that 85% of patients in the first trial and nearly all in the second trial experienced a notable increase in hemoglobin levels, leading to reduced fatigue and dependency on transfusions.
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Pegcetacoplan significantly improves outcomes for patients with paroxysmal nocturnal hemoglobinuria (PNH) experiencing extravascular hemolysis (EVH) on eculizumab, leading to approval in 2021/2022 (USA/Europe). We report the first collaborative real-world evidence on pegcetacoplan use in UK and France. A total of 48 patients were either currently receiving or previously received pegcetacoplan (2019-2023).

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Paroxysmal nocturnal hemoglobinuria (PNH) is characterized by complement-mediated intravascular hemolysis leading to anemia, fatigue, and potentially life-threatening thrombotic complications. Breakthrough hemolysis (BTH) was first described in patients with PNH treated with terminal complement C5 inhibitors when intravascular hemolysis reoccurred despite treatment. Pegcetacoplan, the first proximal complement C3 inhibitor, offers broad hemolysis control in patients with PNH.

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Pancytopenia with hypocellular bone marrow is the hallmark of aplastic anaemia (AA) and the diagnosis is confirmed after careful evaluation, following exclusion of alternate diagnosis including hypoplastic myelodysplastic syndromes. Emerging use of molecular cyto-genomics is helpful in delineating immune mediated AA from inherited bone marrow failures (IBMF). Camitta criteria is used to assess disease severity, which along with age and availability of human leucocyte antigen compatible donor are determinants for therapeutic decisions.

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Article Synopsis
  • Paroxysmal nocturnal hemoglobinuria (PNH) is a serious blood disorder linked to bone marrow failure, leading to dangerous blood clots and increased health risks.
  • Treatments like eculizumab and ravulizumab target a specific protein to decrease blood breakdown, but studies show a lower survival rate for PNH patients compared to healthy individuals.
  • Despite being effective in reducing certain risks, these treatments don’t fully address mortality in patients with coexisting bone marrow issues, indicating a need for further research.
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What Is This Summary About?: Severe aplastic anemia (SAA) and very severe aplastic anemia (vSAA) are blood diseases of the bone marrow. If a suitable donor for bone marrow transplant as initial treatment is unavailable, standard immunosuppression is used. Standard immunosuppression treatment includes horse antithymocyte globulin (hATG) and cyclosporin A (CsA).

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  • The study evaluates the safety and effectiveness of danicopan, an oral complement factor D inhibitor, as an add-on treatment for patients with paroxysmal nocturnal haemoglobinuria (PNH) experiencing extravascular haemolysis while on C5 inhibitors (ravulizumab or eculizumab).
  • It is an ongoing, phase 3 trial called ALPHA, which randomly assigns eligible adult patients to receive danicopan or a placebo alongside their current PNH treatment for 12 weeks.
  • The primary goal of the study is to measure changes in haemoglobin concentration from baseline to week 12, with interim analysis conducted once around 75% of participants completed the trial up to that point.
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Objectives: Data from the International PNH Registry (NCT01374360) were used to estimate the overall survival and first occurrence of thromboembolic events/major adverse vascular events (TEs/MAVEs) for eculizumab-treated patients with paroxysmal nocturnal hemoglobinuria (PNH) compared with a contemporaneous untreated cohort.

Methods: Patients enrolled in the Registry from March 16, 2007, to February 14, 2022, were included. Treated patients received eculizumab for >35 days; untreated patients did not receive eculizumab at any time.

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Complement dysregulation underpins the physiopathology of paroxysmal nocturnal hemoglobinuria (PNH). Cemdisiran, an RNA interference investigational treatment, silences complement component 5 (C5) expression in the liver. Previously reported results showed sustained reduction in C5 levels following cemdisiran monotherapy, with >90% reduction in patients with PNH.

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Article Synopsis
  • Androgens have historically been used to treat bone marrow failure (BMF) syndromes, but there's limited prospective data on their effectiveness and safety in these conditions.
  • A retrospective analysis involving 274 BMF patients from various European centers showed low remission rates after androgen treatment, with varying survival outcomes based on the type of BMF.
  • The study highlights the potential for androgens to be a manageable treatment option with minimal severe side effects, supporting their continued use and setting the groundwork for future clinical recommendations.
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Paroxysmal nocturnal hemoglobinuria (PNH) is a rare, life-threatening, acquired disease in which blood cells lacking complement regulatory proteins are destroyed because of uncontrolled complement activity. Since 2007, terminal complement inhibitors have revolutionized the treatment of this disease. However, patients treated with these inhibitors can still experience anemia because of C3-mediated extravascular hemolysis and clinically relevant levels of breakthrough or residual intravascular hemolysis.

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Introduction: Complement C5 inhibitor eculizumab is the first approved treatment for paroxysmal nocturnal hemoglobinuria (PNH), a rare hematologic disorder caused by uncontrolled terminal complement activation. Approximately 50% of patients with aplastic anemia (AA) have PNH cells. Limited data are available for patients with AA-PNH taking concomitant immunosuppressive therapy (IST) and eculizumab.

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Background: In the PEGASUS trial, the complement C3 inhibitor, pegcetacoplan, showed superiority to eculizumab in improving haematological outcomes in adult patients with paroxysmal nocturnal haemoglobinuria and suboptimal response to eculizumab at 16 weeks. The aim of the open-label period was to evaluate the long-term efficacy and safety of pegcetacoplan through to 48 weeks.

Methods: PEGASUS was a phase 3, randomised, open-label, active-comparator controlled trial conducted in 44 centres in Australia, Belgium, Canada, France, Germany, Japan, Russia, South Korea, Spain, the UK, and the USA.

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Article Synopsis
  • - The study evaluated the long-term effects of ravulizumab, a C5 inhibitor, on patients with paroxysmal nocturnal hemoglobinuria (PNH) over a period from 27 weeks to 2 years after initial treatment.
  • - Results showed sustained improvements in key health indicators such as lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) levels and a significant rate of transfusion avoidance, with 81.9% to 85.6% of patients avoiding transfusions.
  • - Overall, ravulizumab was well tolerated during this extended period, with a low incidence of serious adverse events, confirming its effectiveness and safety as a primary treatment option for PNH.
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