Abstract
Eltrombopag (Revolade®), an orally active thrombopoietin receptor agonist, fills an important formerly unmet clinical need in patients with severe aplastic anaemia refractory to prior immunosuppressive therapy. In this patient population, treatment with eltrombopag for 12–16 weeks produced a haematological response in at least one cell lineage in 40 % of patients and extended treatment produced tri-lineage responses in nearly 41 % of the responders. In robust responders, stable haematological counts were maintained after eltrombopag discontinuation. Treatment with eltrombopag is generally well tolerated.
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Acknowledgments
The review updated from Drugs 2015;75(5):525–31 [18], and was reviewed by: E. Angelucci, Ospedale Oncologico di Riferimento Regionale, Cagliari, Italy; Meral Beksac, Ankara University, Ankara, Turkey; R. Desmond, Tallaght Hospital, Dublin, Ireland; P. Scheinberg, National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, USA. During the peer review process, the manufacturer of eltrombopag 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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The preparation of this review was not supported by any external funding.
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S. Dhillon and P. McCormack are salaried employees of Adis/Springer, are responsible for the article content and declare no conflicts of interest.
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Dhillon, S., McCormack, P.L. Eltrombopag in severe aplastic anaemia: a guide to its use in the EU. Drugs Ther Perspect 32, 232–237 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40267-016-0301-x
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s40267-016-0301-x