UPDATE: FDA Approves Shire's FIRAZYR (icatibant injection) for Acute Attacks of Hereditary Angioedema

Shire SHPGY today announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has granted marketing approval for FIRAZYR® (icatibant injection) for treatment of acute attacks of hereditary angioedema in adults 18 years of age and older. "Until now, HAE patients faced challenges gaining rapid access to acute treatment such as the need to travel to the physician's office or hospital," said Timothy Craig, Professor of Medicine & Pediatrics, Penn State Hershey Medical Center. "FIRAZYR is a treatment with demonstrated efficacy that can be carried and stored at room temperature and self-injected by the patient. FIRAZYR addresses this important unmet need by providing HAE patients with fast access to acute treatment." HAE is a debilitating rare genetic disease characterized by recurrent, sometimes disfiguring and often painful episodes of acute swelling which can be life-threatening in some cases. The swelling attacks can affect any part of the body but most commonly occur in the face, gastrointestinal tract, extremities or genitals. Laryngeal attacks can be fatal due to the risk of suffocation. "The unpredictability of HAE attacks can place limits on patients' travel, employment opportunities, educational opportunities, and social life," said U.S. HAE Association Executive Vice President Janet Long. "With this approval, patients have an important new option to treat HAE attacks."