Safety and pharmacokinetics of anti-TFPI antibody (concizumab) in healthy volunteers and patients with hemophilia: a randomized first human dose trial

Background: Prophylaxis with either intravenous (i.v.) factor VIII (FVIII) or FIX is the gold standard of care for patients with severe hemophilia. A monoclonal antibody (concizumab) targeting tissue factor pathway inhibitor (TFPI) that can be administered subcutaneously (s.c.) has the potential to alter current concepts of prophylaxis in hemophilia.

Objectives: To evaluate the safety and describe the pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics of single-dose concizumab in healthy volunteers and patients with hemophilia A or B.

Methods: In this first human dose, phase 1, multicenter, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial escalating single i.v. (0.5-9000 μg kg(-1) ) or s.c. (50-3000 μg kg(-1) ) doses of concizumab were administered to healthy volunteers (n = 28) and hemophilia patients (n = 24).

Results: Concizumab had a favorable safety profile after single i.v. or s.c. administration. There were no serious adverse events and no anti-concizumab antibodies. No clinically relevant changes in platelets, prothrombin time, activated partial thromboplastin time, fibrinogen, or antithrombin were found. A dose-dependent procoagulant effect of concizumab was seen as increased levels of D-dimers and prothrombin fragment 1 + 2. Nonlinear pharmacokinetics of concizumab was observed due to target-mediated clearance. A maximum mean AUC0-∞ of 33 960 h μg mL(-1) and a maximum mean concentration of 247 μg mL(-1) was measured at the highest dose.

Conclusions: Concizumab showed a favorable safety profile after i.v. or s.c. administration and nonlinear pharmacokinetics was observed due to target-mediated clearance. A concentration-dependent procoagulant effect of concizumab was observed, supporting further study into the potential use of s.c. concizumab for hemophilia treatment.