Stop the Bleeding

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration today approved Corifact, the first product intended to prevent bleeding in people with the rare genetic defect congenital Factor XIII deficiency.

Patients with congenital Factor XIII deficiency don’t make enough Factor XIII, a substance that circulates in the blood and is important for normal clotting. Without treatment, people with the condition are at risk for life-threatening bleeding.

Congenital Factor XIII deficiency is rare and affects 1 out of every 3 million to 5 million people in the United States. The deficiency may lead to soft tissue bruising, mucosal bleeding and fatal intracranial bleeding. Newborns with Factor XIII deficiency may have umbilical cord bleeding.

“This product helps fill an important need,” said Karen Midthun, MD, director of the FDA’s Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research.

Corifact received orphan-drug designation by the FDA because it is intended for use in a rare disease or condition. It was approved for marketing under the FDA's accelerated approval regulations that require an on-going study to demonstrate that patients actually receive the clinical benefit predicted by the data obtained so far.

The FDA approved Corifact based on results of a clinical study of 14 people, including children, with congenital Factor XIII deficiency. The most common side effects observed were hypersensitivity reactions (allergy, rash, pruritus, and erythema), chills, fever, arthralgia, headache, elevated thrombin-antithrombin levels, and an increase in liver (hepatic) enzymes.

Corifact is made from the pooled plasma of healthy donors. People receiving Corifact may develop antibodies against Factor XIII that may make the product ineffective. It potentially can cause adverse events from abnormal clotting if doses higher than the labeled dose are given to patients.

Ironically, Corifact is manufactured by CSL Behring of Marburg, Germany--Marburg being the namesake of the Marburg Virus, a disease known for causing uncontrolled bleeding.