BioCryst Pharmaceuticals, Inc. announced that Health Canada has approved oral, once-daily ORLADEYO® (berotralstat) for the routine prevention of recurrent hereditary angioedema (HAE) attacks in patients 12 years and older. ORLADEYO was safe and well tolerated in clinical trials. One capsule of ORLADEYO per day works to prevent HAE attacks by decreasing the activity of plasma kallikrein.

ORLADEYO® (berotralstat) is a plasma kallikrein inhibitor indicated for prophylaxis to prevent attacks of hereditary angioedema (HAE) in adults and pediatric patients 12 years and older. The most frequently reported adverse reactions in patients receiving ORLADEYO compared with placebo were gastrointestinal reactions. These reactions generally occurred early after initiation of treatment with ORLADEYO, became less frequent with time and typically self-resolved.

The safety and effectiveness of ORLADEYO for the treatment of acute HAE attacks have not been established. ORLADEYO should not be used for the treatment of acute HAE attacks. Additional doses or dosages of ORLADEYO higher than 150 mg once daily are not recommended due to the potential for QT prolongation.

An increase in QT prolongation was observed at dosages higher than the recommended 150 mg once-daily dosage and was concentration dependent. The most common adverse reactions (=10% and higher than placebo) in patients receiving ORLADEYO were abdominal pain, vomiting, diarrhea, back pain, and gastroesophageal reflux disease. A reduced dosage of 110 mg taken orally once daily with food is recommended in patients with moderate or severe hepatic impairment (Child-Pugh B or C) and in patients taking chronically administered P-glycoprotein (P-gp) or breast cancer resistance protein (BCRP) inhibitors (eg, cyclosporine).

Berotralstat is a substrate of P-gp and BCRP. P-gp inducers (eg, rifampin, St. John's wort) may decrease berotralstat plasma concentration, leading to reduced efficacy of ORLADEYO.

The use of P-gp inducers is not recommended with ORLADEYO. ORLADEYO at a dose of 150 mg is a moderate inhibitor of CYP2D6 and CYP3A4. For concomitant medications with a narrow therapeutic index that are predominantly metabolized by CYP2D6 or CYP3A4, appropriate monitoring and dose titration is recommended.

ORLADEYO at a dose of 300 mg is a P-gp inhibitor. Appropriate monitoring and dose titration is recommended for P-gp substrates (eg, digoxin) when coadministering with ORLADEYO. The safety and effectiveness of ORLADEYO in pediatric patients <12 years of age have not been established.

There are insufficient data available to inform drug-related risks with ORLADEYO use in pregnancy. There are no data on the presence of berotralstat in human milk, its effects on the breastfed infant, or its effects on milk production.