Grifols’ Higher-Potency Rabies Immune Globulin Is Now Available
- By BSTQ Staff
In May, Grifols’ higher-potency rabies immune globulin (RIG), HyperRAB S/D, was made available to healthcare providers. While HyperRAB has been on the market for 40 years, this improved immune globulin was approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in April as a more effective and tolerable rabies treatment for patients. It is one of three RIGs approved as rabies postexposure prophylaxis. But, this new version is twice the potency (300 IU/mL) of currently available RIG options, offering a greater concentration of anti-rabies virus antibodies within each mL of volume. This means clinicians can administer fewer injections because each dose contains twice the concentration of anti-rabies virus antibodies.
Manufactured using a sophisticated caprylate chromatography process, which significantly reduces procoagulant activity and product impurities such as IgG aggregates, the new HyperRAB is available to U.S. patients in two sizes: 1 mL/300 IU and 5 mL/1500 IU. What’s more, even though this new product is a big advancement for patient care, the cost of treatment remains the same as the original product.
Approximately 30,000 to 60,000 individuals are administered RIG each year after possible exposure to suspect animals. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) guidelines, patients with normal immune systems should receive a rabies vaccine on days 0, 3, 7 and 14 after exposure. If they are immunosuppressed, an additional vaccineis recommended on day 28. CDCalso recommends administering asmuch RIG into and around the wound site as possible. With the lower-potency immune globulins, it is often difficult for physicians to administer a large volume of RIG into a wound and around it. But, the new HyperRAB makes it easier to facilitate delivery of a better dose at the wound site.
