Clinical efficacy of icatibant in the treatment of acute hereditary angioedema during the FAST-3 trial

Bradykinin is the key mediator of symptoms of hereditary angioedema (HAE), a rare genetic disorder characterized by recurrent episodes of edema of the skin, mucosa and muscle. Icatibant, a bradykinin B2 receptor antagonist, is an effective and generally well-tolerated treatment option for acute attacks of type I and II HAE. A Phase III randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study, FAST-3 (NCT00912093), was designed to further evaluate the efficacy and safety of icatibant in patients presenting with moderate to very severe cutaneous and/or abdominal or mild-to-moderate laryngeal symptoms. Severe laryngeal attacks were treated with open-label icatibant. The controlled phase of FAST-3, completed in October 2010 with results published in December 2011, demonstrated that compared with placebo, icatibant evoked clinically meaningful and statistically significant efficacy across multiple end points in the treatment of type I and II HAE attacks. In addition, icatibant was generally well tolerated and no drug-related serious adverse events were experienced.