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Synonyms: ARGX-113 | efgartigimod alfa-fcab | Vyvgart®
efgartigimod alfa is an approved drug (FDA (2021), EMA (2022))
Compound class:
Antibody
Comment: Efgartigimod alfa (ARGX-113) is a first-in-class antibody fragment designed for the treatment of patients with severe autoimmune diseases associated with high levels of pathogenic immunoglobulin G (IgG) autoantibodies [6]. It binds to the IgG receptor, major histocompatibility complex class I-like Fc receptor (FcRn, the protein product of the FCGRT gene). Efgartigimod alfa inactivates FcRn's IgG binding ability (the FcRn-IgG interaction normally protects IgG from degradation) thus facilitating accelerated catabolism of native pathogenic autoantibodies [3,5]. The mechanism of this drug action is discussed more comprehensively in Roopenian and Akilesh (2007) [4] and Vaccaro et al. (2005) [7].
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| Immunopharmacology Comments |
| Amelioration of experimentally induced MG in rats by FcRn blockade is reported by Liu et al. (2007) [2]. ARGX-113 has completed Phase 2 clinical trial for myasthenia gravis (MG). Although clinically meaningful and statistically significant benefit of ARGX-113 over placebo has been reported in press releases from the drug's developer ArgenX, no published results are available (as of Feb 2018). |
| Immunopharmacology Disease | |||
| Disease | X-Refs | Comment | References |
| Myasthenia gravis |
Disease Ontology:
DOID:437 OMIM: 254200 Orphanet: ORPHA589 |
Phase 2 clinical trial NCT02965573 in MG patients has been completed. FDA orphan drug for MG (granted Sept 2017) | 1 |
