Takeda will sell rusfertide under the brand name Mimrylo after the Food and Drug Administration approved the treatment for polycythemia vera.
STAT reported that the approval covers a rare, slow-growing cancer linked to excessive red blood cell production.
A weekly injection
Developed by Protagonist Therapeutics, the drug is administered as a weekly injection.
Polycythemia vera is a chronic blood cancer in which excess red blood cells make the blood thicker.
That thickening is associated with a greater risk of life-threatening heart attacks, strokes and blood clots, according to the report.
Mimrylo represents a new type of treatment for the disease, which is also described as a rare blood cancer.
The Food and Drug Administration action makes rusfertide available under Takeda’s branding, while Protagonist Therapeutics is identified as the biotech company that developed it.
The approval concerns a condition that grows slowly but can produce serious cardiovascular complications through its effect on the blood.
Mimrylo’s weekly dosing is the central administration detail reported for the treatment.