Alexion Initiates Multinational Registration Trial of Eculizumab for Prevention of DGF after Kidney Transplantation

Alexion Pharmaceuticals

today announced the initiation of dosing in a single, multinational, placebo-controlled clinical trial to evaluate the efficacy and safety of eculizumab (Soliris®) for the prevention of delayed graft function (DGF) after kidney transplantation in adult patients who are at increased risk of DGF. DGF is an early and serious complication of organ transplantation that affects approximately 25 percent,1 and possibly up to 50 percent,2 of deceased-donor kidney transplant cases, and is characterized by the failure of a transplanted organ to function normally immediately following transplantation. Patients experiencing DGF after a kidney transplant require dialysis in order to survive.3-5 Worldwide, there is an unmet medical need for a highly innovative