First Nasal Spray for Treatment of Anaphylaxis approved by FDA
Natalia Elliot | August 12, 2024 | News story | Research and Development | Emergency Medicine, FDA, anaphylaxis, epinephrine, nasal
ARS Pharmaceuticals has been granted approval by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for their epinephrine nasal spray, neffy, to be used as treatment of type 1 allergic reactions including anaphylaxis.
This is the first needle-free delivery option available for patients at this time. The spray is approved for paediatric patients in addition to adult patients who weigh under 30kg, and has received fast track designation.
Richard Lowenthal, co-founder, president and chief executive officer, ARS Pharmaceuticals, said: “This approval marks a watershed moment in addressing an unmet medical need for people with type 1 allergies – a treatment alternative that avoids the need to inject epinephrine with a needle, which can be fraught with anxiety and fear for many,”.
The approval of neffy is based on data from five primary registration studies with a 2mg intranasal dose of epinephrine.
These primary clinical trials were supported by numerous supportive and pilot studies. neffy met all defined clinical endpoints and its pharmacodynamic (PD) and pharmacokinetic (PK) data were within the range of approved epinephrine injection products.
No serious adverse events were reported in any clinical study. Adverse events in neffy clinical trials were generally mild in nature without any meaningful nasal irritation or pain.
“Epinephrine treatment is only effective if available, readily usable, and administered appropriately. Our team has worked tirelessly to create an easy-to-carry, easy-to-use, needle-free device that offers peace of mind to patients and caregivers by enabling them to administer epinephrine quickly and confidently when needed” added Richard Lowenthal.
Type 1 allergic reactions, including those caused by food, medications and insect bites, can lead to life-threatening anaphylaxis and result in an estimated 500,000 emergency room (ER) visits each year, with nearly 60% of such patients reported to not have received epinephrine prior to visiting the ER.
Natalia Elliot
Related Content
Rethinking oncology trial endpoints with generalised pairwise comparisons
For decades, oncology trials have been anchored to a familiar set of endpoints. Overall survival …
Alto Neuroscience’s schizophrenia treatment granted FDA Fast Track designation
Alto Neuroscience has announced that its investigational treatment for cognitive impairment associated with schizophrenia (CIAS) …
FDA approves Moderna’s updated COVID-19 vaccines targeting new variant
The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved Moderna’s updated COVID-19 vaccines, Spikevax and …
