New Treatment for Hemophilia B Helps Prevent Bleeding Complications

A new drug that was recently approved to help those with hemophilia has hit the market, thanks to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. This product will help prevent routine bleeding episodes in people 16 and up with hemophilia B, a type of the disease in which one of the proteins needed to form blood clots is missing or reduced.

Rixubis, the new drug, a purified protein supplied as a freeze-dried powder, is the first recombinant coagulation factor IX to be sanctioned by the FDA. The drug is injected twice weekly after being combined with sterilized water.

The National Hemophilia Foundation writes that this disease, most commonly affected by males, affects 3,300 people in the United States alone, and can cause serious bleeding episodes affecting the joints and even possibly leading to death.

According to U.S. News and World Report, the treatment for the drug was evaluated in clinical studies involving 73 males between the ages of 12 and 65. Those who received the treatment had 75 percent lower annual bleeding rate than those who had historically received on-demand treatment, the FDA said.

However, health experts also caution that this new treatment may lead to life-threatening allergic reactions that could outweigh the benefits of the drug's use. More common clinical side effects also included distorted taste, pain and atypical blood test results.

Rixubis is produced by Baxter Healthcare, based in Westlake Village, Calif.