Shire's Takhzyro wins US approval in hereditary angioedema

Irish pharma major Shire (LSE: SHP) announced on Friday that the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) had granted approval for Takhzyro (lanadelumab), its novel preventative therapy for hereditary angioedema (HAE).

Takhzyro is the only monoclonal antibody that provides targeted inhibition of plasma kallikrein, an enzyme that is poorly regulated in patients suffering from HAE. Shire recommends a dosage of 300mg once every two weeks, via subcutaneous injection that the company reports most patients were able to self-administer in under a minute.

HAE affects one in every 50,000 people, and can result in unpredictable, difficult-to-manage episodes of swelling throughout the body. Of that group, around 50% will experience laryngeal swelling in their lifetime, 30% of whom will die as a result.