How long does Firazyr take to work?
In clinical trials, it took an average of 2 to 2.5 hours for Firazyr (icatibant) to relieve symptoms of angioedema in people with HAE.
- 92.4% of attacks were treated with a single dose of Firazyr.
- When injected under the skin (subcutaneously), 97% of a dose of Firazyr is absorbed into the bloodstream.
- It takes approximately 45 minutes for Firazyr to reach peak levels in the blood.
Firazyr has a short half-life (approximately 1.4 hours) and most of a dose is eliminated after 5.6 to 7 hours. There is no evidence of accumulation of Firazyr after three 30mg doses administered 6 hours apart. One subcutaneous 30mg dose of Firazyr effectively blocks bradykinin for a least six hours (up to eight hours).
What is the dosage of Firazyr?
The usual dosage to treat an acute attack of angioedema is 30mg. If attack symptoms persist additional doses may be administered at intervals of at least 6 hours.
No more than 3 doses may be administered in any 24 hour period. In clinical trials, not more than eight doses were administered per month.
References
- Hereditary angioedema. Genetics home reference. https://ghr.nlm.nih.gov/condition/hereditary-angioedema#genes
- Feussner A, Kalina U, Hofmann P, Machnig T, Henkel G. Biochemical comparison of four commercially available C1 esterase inhibitor concentrate for treatment of hereditary angioedema. Transfusion. 2014;54(10):2566‐2573. doi:10.1111/trf.12678
- Firazyr (icatibant) [Package Insert] https://www.shirecontent.com/PI/PDFs/Firazyr_USA_ENG.pdf