Givosiran: First Approval
Compliance with Ethical Standards
Funding The preparation of this review was not supported by any external funding.
Conflict of interest During the peer review process the manufacturer of the agent under review was offered an opportunity to comment on the article. Changes resulting from any comments received were made by the authors on the basis of scientific completeness and accuracy. Lesley Scott is a salaried employee of Adis International Ltd/Springer Nature, is responsible for the article content and declares no relevant conflicts of interestGivosiran (Givlaari™) is an aminolevulinate synthase 1 (ALAS1)-directed small interfering RNA (siRNA) covalently linked to a ligand to enable specific delivery of the siRNA to hepatocytes. This results in downregulation of ALAS1 mRNA and prevents accumulation of neurotoxic δ-aminolevulinic acid and porphobilinogen levels that are associated with acute porphyria attacks. Givosiran is being developed by Alnylam Pharmaceuticals for the treatment of acute hepatic porphyria (AHP). In November 2019, givosiran was approved in the USA for the treatment of adults with AHP based on the positive results from the multinational, phase III ENVISION trial. In the EU, givosiran received a positive opinion in January 2020 for the treatment of AHP in adults and adolescents aged 12 years and older. This article summarizes the milestones in the development of givosiran leading to this first approval for the treatment of adults with AHP.
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