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Lusutrombopag: A Review in Thrombocytopenia in Patients with Chronic Liver Disease Prior to a Scheduled Procedure

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Abstract

Lusutrombopag (Mulpleta®), an orally bioavailable, small molecule thrombopoietin receptor agonist, is approved for the treatment of thrombocytopenia in adult patients with chronic liver disease who are scheduled to undergo a procedure. In placebo-controlled phase 3 clinical trials, lusutrombopag significantly increased the proportion of patients who did not require a platelet transfusion prior to the procedure or rescue therapy for bleeding up to 7 days after the scheduled procedure. Lusutrombopag also significantly increased the proportion of patients who were responders (i.e. had a platelet count ≥ 50 × 109/L and an increase of ≥ 20 × 109/L from baseline) compared with placebo. Lusutrombopag is well tolerated, with headache being the most common adverse reaction in lusutrombopag recipients in clinical trials. Thus, lusutrombopag represents a promising emerging therapeutic option for the treatment of thrombocytopenia in adult patients with chronic liver disease who are scheduled to undergo a procedure.

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Acknowledgements

During the peer review process, the manufacturer of lusutrombopag was also offered an opportunity to review this article. Changes resulting from comments received were made on the basis of scientific and editorial merit.

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  1. Springer Nature, Private Bag 65901, Mairangi Bay, Auckland, 0754, New Zealand

    Matt Shirley, Emma H. McCafferty & Hannah A. Blair

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  1. Matt Shirley
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  2. Emma H. McCafferty
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  3. Hannah A. Blair
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Matt Shirley.

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Funding

The preparation of this review was not supported by any external funding.

Conflict of interest

Matt Shirley, Emma McCafferty and Hannah Blair are salaried employees of Adis International Ltd/Springer Nature, are responsible for the article content and declare no relevant conflicts of interest.

Additional information

Additional information for this Adis Drug Evaluation can be found at: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.9764948.

The manuscript was reviewed by:A. Ascione, Department of Internal Medicine, Centre for Liver Disease, Fatebenefratelli Hospital, Naples, Italy; R. Maan, Department of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Erasmus MC University Medical Center Rotterdam, Rotterdam, Netherlands.

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Shirley, M., McCafferty, E.H. & Blair, H.A. Lusutrombopag: A Review in Thrombocytopenia in Patients with Chronic Liver Disease Prior to a Scheduled Procedure. Drugs 79, 1689–1695 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40265-019-01197-8

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