Peginterferon alfa-2b

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

Peginterferon alfa-2b
Clinical data
Subcutaneous injection
ATC code
Legal status
Legal status
Pharmacokinetic data
Elimination half-life22–60 hrs
Identifiers
  • PEGylated human interferon alpha 2b
ECHA InfoCard
100.208.164 Edit this at Wikidata
Chemical and physical data
FormulaC860H1353N229O255S9
Molar mass19269.17 g·mol−1
 ☒NcheckY (what is this?)  (verify)

Pegylated interferon alfa-2b is a drug used to treat

Subcutaneous injection is the preferred delivery method.[3]

Belonging to the

alpha interferon family of medications, the molecule is PEGylated to prevent breakdown.[3][4] Approval for medical use in the United States was granted in 2001.[3] It is on the World Health Organization's List of Essential Medicines as a therapy for chronic hepatitis C.[5][6]

Medical uses

Hepatitis

Till around 2010, PEGylated interferon alfa-2b in combination with ribavirin, was part of the standard regimen used in management of hepatitis C.[4][7] Ribivarin helped in increasing the Sustained Virologic Response (SVR) even more.[8] Developed by Schering-Plough, the drug was approved by Food and Drug Administration (FDA) of the United States in 2001, and has been on the World Health Organization's List of Essential Medicines as a therapy for chronic hepatitis C since 2013.[4][5][6]

A 2013 meta-analysis over Clinical Infectious Diseases noted the combination-treatment to be safe as well as effective for children and adolescents; other meta-analyses had noted the same for adult population.[9] A 2012 meta-analysis had found PEGylated interferon alfa-2a to be the more effective variant for treatment-naive patients.[10]

With the advent of Direct-Acting-Antivirals (DAAs — ), interferon-based treatment regimens gradually fell out of fashion due to relatively poor efficacy and high frequency of adverse side-effects.[4][7][11] No longer recommended, the use of PEGylated interferon alfa-2b has essentially ceased in all countries, where DAA therapeutics are available.[12][4]

Melanoma

For high-risk melanoma, it is used as an adjuvant therapy to surgery in some countries.[3][13] It was first approved for the purpose by FDA on 29 March 2011, based on a single phase III trial.[14][15]

The usage remains controversial — frequency of severe side-effects is high,

overall survival benefits substantially vary across different trials, and there is no consensus on the dosage regimen.[16] Meta-analyses have suggested that the drug might be more helpful for patients with ulcerated primary lesion.[16]

COVID-19

On 23 April 2021, the

Cadila Healthcare; trade name is Virafin) for treating moderate COVID-19 infections.[17] No publication (or preprint) yet exists; the phase II trial was poorly designed and not robust.[17]

Side effects

Adverse side effects are common and often require dose reduction or outright discontinuation.[4][8]

Common side effects include

imbalance of thyroid hormones, xerostomia, thrombocytopenia, hepatomegaly, pharyngitis, cough, psychosis, rashes, arrythmia, anemia etc.[3] Severe side effects may include a range of potentially fatal neuropsychiatric, autoimmune, ischemic, or infectious disorders.[3][4]

Mechanism of action

Host genetic factors

For genotype 1 hepatitis C treated with pegylated interferon-alfa-2a or pegylated interferon-alfa-2b combined with ribavirin, it has been shown that genetic polymorphisms near the human IL28B gene, encoding interferon lambda 3, are associated with significant differences in response to the treatment. This finding, originally reported in Nature,[18] showed that genotype 1 hepatitis C patients carrying certain genetic variant alleles near the IL28B gene are more likely to achieve sustained virological response after the treatment than others. A later report from Nature[19] demonstrated that the same genetic variants are also associated with the natural clearance of the genotype 1 hepatitis C virus.

References

  1. ^ "PegIntron- peginterferon alfa-2b injection, powder, lyophilized, for solution PegIntron- peginterferon alfa-2b kit". DailyMed. Retrieved 28 September 2020.
  2. ^ "Sylatron- peginterferon alfa-2b kit". DailyMed. 28 August 2019. Retrieved 28 September 2020.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h "Peginterferon Alfa-2b (Professional Patient Advice) - Drugs.com". www.drugs.com. Archived from the original on 16 January 2017. Retrieved 12 January 2017.
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h i "Peginterferon alfa-2b (PegIntron)". Hepatitis C Online. Infectious Diseases Education & Assessment, University of Washington. January 2021. Retrieved 12 January 2017.
  5. ^
    hdl:10665/325771
    . WHO/MVP/EMP/IAU/2019.06. License: CC BY-NC-SA 3.0 IGO.
  6. ^ a b "eEML - Electronic Essential Medicines List". list.essentialmeds.org. Retrieved 21 May 2021.
  7. ^
    PMID 25963067
    .
  8. ^ a b The Selection and Use of Essential Medicines: Report of the WHO Expert Committee (PDF). WHO Technical Report Series: 985. Geneva: World Health Organization. 2013. p. 42.
  9. PMID 23243171
    .
  10. S2CID 34328390
    .
  11. ^ Pockros PJ. "Direct-acting antivirals for the treatment of hepatitis C virus infection". UpToDate. Retrieved 21 May 2021.
  12. S2CID 3337006
    .
  13. PMID 22993335
    .
  14. PMID 23002124
    .
  15. S2CID 665063
    .
  16. ^
    S2CID 22139797
    .
  17. ^ a b Borana R (24 April 2021). "DCGI Approves Virafin for Moderate COVID. Where's the Evidence It Works?". The Wire Science. Retrieved 20 May 2021.
  18. S2CID 1707096
    .
  19. PMID 19759533
    .

External links
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Peginterferon_alfa-2b&oldid=1214317206"