出典非定型溶血性尿毒症症候群(aHUS)は、全身の細い血管に異常な血栓形成を引き起こし、腎不全、他の臓器障害、早死にを引き起こす超希少な遺伝病です。このプロジェクトの開始時点では、FDAが承認したaHUSの治療法はありませんでした。Furthermore, as only a few thousand aHUS patients are diagnosed each year, recruiting enough participants to conduct clinical trials was difficult.
However, the FDA had approved a humanized monoclonal antibody (mAb), eculizumab, to treat a related, rare, life-threatening disease – paroxysmal nocturnal hemoglobinuria (PNH), which is characterized by destruction of red blood cells and excessive blood clotting. Both aHUS and PNH symptoms result from chronic, uncontrolled complement system activation. Knowing eculizumab’s mechanism of action for PNH suggested that it could confer clinical benefit in aHUS.
Trial simulations were used to determine the best dosing for pediatric and adult aHUS patients.