FDA Approves Protagonist-Takeda's Mimrylo for Rare Blood Cancer
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- FDA approved rusfertide on Friday to treat a rare, slow-growing cancer that causes overproduction of red blood cells
- Protagonist Therapeutics developed the drug, which Japanese pharma company Takeda will sell under the brand name Mimrylo
- Mimrylo is administered as a weekly injection and was cleared specifically for polycythemia vera, a chronic blood cancer
- Polycythemia vera overproduces red blood cells, thickening patients' blood and raising the risk of life-threatening heart attacks, strokes, and blood clots
Why it matters: Polycythemia vera patients, who face elevated risks of heart attacks, strokes, and blood clots from chronically thickened blood, gain a new weekly-injection treatment option. The approval also gives smaller biotech Protagonist Therapeutics its first commercial product through a major partnership with Takeda, which takes on the selling responsibilities.
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