First treatment for ultra-rare disease, aHUS, receives marketing approval in Canada

Alexion Pharma Canada  announces that Health Canada has approved the use of Soliris® (eculizumab) for the treatment of patients with atypical hemolytic uremic syndrome (atypical HUS).

Atypical HUS, or aHUS is a chronic ultra-rare, genetic disease that progressively damages vital organs, leading to stroke, heart attack, kidney failure and premature death. aHUS is caused by the formation of blood clots in small blood vessels throughout the body, known as thrombotic microangiopathy, or TMA.

Soliris® has been proven to hinder complement-mediated – when the body uses the complement system, the immune system’s non-specific first line of defense – TMA and slow down the damage of vital organs.

More than half of all patients with aHUS die, require kidney dialysis or have permanent kidney damage within one year of diagnosis. Soliris® is the first therapy for the treatment of this severe and life threatening condition. It is approved in the U.S., the European Union, Japan and other countries.

Soliris® is a first-in-class terminal complement inhibitor developed from the laboratory through regulatory approval and commercialization by Alexion Pharmaceuticals, Inc.