Lipegfilgrastim

Legal statusLegal status Pharmacokinetic dataMetabolismSaturable proteolytic enzymes (not cytochrome P450 system mediated)^[4]Elimination half-life32–62 hours^[4]IdentifiersCAS NumberPubChem CIDDrugBankUNIIKEGGChEMBLChemical and physical dataFormulaC₈₆₆H₁₃₇₂N₂₂₆O₂₅₈S₉ + PEGMolar mass39000 g·mol⁻¹

Lipegfilgrastim, sold under the brand name Lonquex, is a medication used to reduce the duration of neutropenia and the incidence of febrile neutropenia in adults.^[1] It is given by injection under the skin in the abdomen, upper arm or thigh.^[1]

The most common side effects include nausea as well as bone and muscle pain.^[1]

Lipegfilgrastim is similar to granulocyte colony stimulating factor (G‑CSF), a naturally occurring protein in the body that stimulates the production of white blood cells including neutrophils in the bone marrow.^[1] Lipegfilgrastim acts in the same way as G‑CSF, increasing the production of neutrophils and thereby helping to reduce the duration of neutropenia and the occurrence of febrile neutropenia (a sign of infection) in people receiving chemotherapy.^[1]

Lipegfilgrastim is a filgrastim biosimilar.^[1] In lipegfilgrastim, the filgrastim has been 'pegylated' (attached to polyethylene glycol).^[1] This slows down the medicine's removal from the body and allows the medicine to be given less often.^[1]

Lipegfilgrastim was authorized for medical use in the European Union in July 2013.^[1]

Medical uses

Lipegfilgrastim is indicated for the reduction in the duration of neutropenia and the incidence of febrile neutropenia in adults treated with cytotoxic chemotherapy for malignancy (with the exception of chronic myeloid leukaemia and myelodysplastic syndromes).^[1]

References

Further reading

• Bond TC, Szabo E, Gabriel S, Klastersky J, Tomey O, Mueller U, et al. (September 2018). "Meta-analysis and indirect treatment comparison of lipegfilgrastim with pegfilgrastim and filgrastim for the reduction of chemotherapy-induced neutropenia-related events". J Oncol Pharm Pract. 24 (6): 412–423. doi:10.1177/1078155217714859. PMC 6094503. PMID 28614980.
• Guariglia R, Martorelli MC, Lerose R, Telesca D, Milella MR, Musto P (2016). "Lipegfilgrastim in the management of chemotherapy-induced neutropenia of cancer patients". Biologics: Targets and Therapy. 10: 1–8. doi:10.2147/BTT.S58597. PMC 4730998. PMID 26858523.
• Zou L, Buchner A, Roberge M, Liu PM (2016). "Immunogenicity Assessment of Lipegfilgrastim in Patients with Breast Cancer Receiving Chemotherapy". J Immunol Res. 2016: 9248061. doi:10.1155/2016/9248061. PMC 4935921. PMID 27419145.