JW Pharmaceutical 'Hemlibra' Study on Bleeding Prevention During Exercise Published in International Journal

[Financial News] JW Pharmaceutical announced on the 11th that the study results proving the various exercise data and bleeding prevention effects of patients administered with the A-type hemophilia treatment 'Hemlibra (ingredient name Emicizumab)' were recently published in the international journal 'Haemophilia'.
Hemlibra is an innovative new drug that mimics the missing blood coagulation factor VIII in the bodies of hemophilia patients. It is the only A-type hemophilia treatment that can be used by both patients with antibodies resistant to existing treatments (factor VIII preparations) and those without antibodies.
The prevention effect is sustained with subcutaneous injection once every 4 weeks. In May 2023, the health insurance coverage was expanded to include non-antibody severe A-type hemophilia patients aged 1 year and older.
A research team led by Kagehiro Amano from the Department of Laboratory Medicine, Tokyo Medical University, Japan, conducted a study from January 2019 to October 2021 on 129 non-antibody A-type hemophilia patients with an average age of 29.7 years.
The research team evaluated the exercise, intensity, bleeding occurrence, and safety of patients after Hemlibra administration using the electronic patient report application 'ePRO' and wearable activity trackers.
Among the patients administered with Hemlibra, 73 recorded their exercises conducted for 8 days at weeks 5, 25, 49, 73, and 97 in ePRO. A total of 968 exercises were reported during this period, of which 58 were high-bleeding-risk exercises such as soccer, marathon, and weightlifting.
Walking was the most frequent exercise with 374 instances (38.6%), followed by cycling with 112 instances (11.6%), and full-body stretching with 84 instances (8.7%). The metabolic equivalent (MET) representing exercise intensity recorded an average median of 2.39 MET for all exercises, with a maximum MET average median of 4.30 MET recorded during exercise.
The median daily average exercise time was 30 minutes, similar to the guidelines recommended for the general public.
The annual bleeding rate (ABR) median for the 129 patients was 0.5 times. There were only 2 bleeding incidents related to exercise: a traumatic bleeding caused by being hit by a ball during basketball and bleeding during fishing. No drug-related adverse reactions to Hemlibra were found.
The researchers evaluated, “This study confirmed that A-type hemophilia patients administered with Hemlibra can engage in various exercises without worrying about bleeding,” and “The study results proved that patients can safely enjoy the health benefits obtained from exercise.”
JW Pharmaceutical plans to strengthen marketing based on these study results to improve the quality of life for A-type hemophilia patients.
A JW Pharmaceutical representative said, “The fact that the exercises performed by patients were similar to the levels recommended for the general public suggests that Hemlibra allows patients to enjoy activities similar to those of the general public without an increased risk of bleeding.”



vrdw88@fnnews.com Kang Jung-mo Reporter