Novartis (NVS) Receives FDA Approval for Exjade as Iron Overload Treatment

Novartis (NYSE: NVS) announced that the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved Exjade (deferasirox) for the treatment of chronic iron overload in patients 10 years of age and older with non-transfusion-dependent thalassemia (NTDT) syndromes and with a liver iron concentration of at least 5 mg of iron per gram dry weight and a serum ferritin measurement greater than 300 micrograms per liter. Exjade is the first treatment indicated for patients with these types of thalassemia in the United States.

The approval is based on results from the first prospective placebo-controlled study of iron chelation in NTDT patients, THALASSA, which showed a significant dose-dependent decrease in iron burden compared to placebo (p<0.001)1. In this pivotal study, Exjade significantly reduced the concentration of iron in the liver, known as liver iron concentration (LIC), as well as the amount of iron anywhere in the body, measured by serum ferritin1. The overall adverse event rate for Exjade was similar to the placebo arm.

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