Increased availability of Factor VIII and von Willebrand Factor (vWF) using a new chromatography method for purifying Factor VIII and vWF concentrates that can be transferred to an industrial scale: is the result achieved by researchers in Kedrion.
This is a particularly effective technique which makes it possible to purify almost double the quantity of protein in the same process compared to the actual method, to the same standards of safety and quality, and allows to obtain, modifying the chromatographic conditions, products with different content of vWF. This means that one or more pharmaceutical products with a high purity and stability level, and specifically designed for the treatment of Haemophilia A or von Willebrand Disease, can be produced.
Haemophilia A is a hereditary condition characterised by severe haemorrhaging which is caused by a qualitative and/or quantitative lack of Factor VIII. This pathology affects about one in 5,000 people throughout the world. In Italy, reported cases of Haemophilia A in 2005 were 1,200. The treatment of choice is administration of exogenous Factor VIII, the protein which haemophiliacs lack. Von Willebrand’s Disease (vWD) is probably the most frequently encountered congenital haemorrhage condition and affects about eight people in every 1,000. It is caused by a lack of or abnormal composition of the von Willebrand Factor.
Begun two years ago and now at an advanced stage in its development, the research realized by Kedrion has been patented in Italy. The work was carried out by researchers Claudio Farina, Filippo Mori, Ilaria Nardini and Paola Rossi under the direction of Claudia Nardini, Industrial Development and Research Manager, and Rodolfo Franceschini, Kedrion’s Industrial Director.
