JW Pharmaceutical said Thursday that the results of a study demonstrating various physical activity data and safety in patients taking Hemlibra (emicizumab) for hemophilia A were recently published in the International Journal of Hematology (Int J Hematol).

Hemlibra is a breakthrough drug mimicking factor VIII, a blood clotting factor deficient in people with hemophilia. It is the only treatment for hemophilia A that can be used in antibody and non-antibody patients who have developed resistance to existing treatments (factor VIII agents). It is also characterized by a long-lasting prophylactic effect with subcutaneous injections once every four weeks.

In May last year, health insurance coverage was expanded to include non-antibody severe hemophilia A patients over one.

According to JW Pharmaceutical, a research team led by Professor Keiji Nogami of the Department of Pediatrics at Nara University in Japan studied 107 patients with non-antibody hemophilia A, with an average age of 35, from January 2019 to May 2021.

Using the electronic patient reporting application ePRO and a wearable activity tracker, the researchers evaluated the association between patients' physical activity, bleeding events, and safety after taking Hemlibra.

Results showed that 47 of 74 patients aged six years and older participated in various physical activities for eight days at weeks five, 25, 49, 73, and 97 after receiving Hemlibra. The number of physical activities was tallied at 396 and 329 for the ePRO and wearable activity tracker.

According to the wearable activity tracker data, walking was the most common activity, with 24 patients (32.4 percent) participating. Following it was cycling at 11 (14.9 percent) and soccer at four (5.4 percent). In addition to soccer, patients also practiced high-intensity sports like basketball, skiing, and tennis.

In addition, only two of the patients' exercise events recorded in ePRO resulted in bleeding.

The median annual bleed rate (ABR) of the 106 patients with hemophilia A was 0.91 yearly bleeds. The number of patients with zero bleeds during the study was 57, or 53.8 percent.

"This study is significant, as it proves that Hemlibra can be used to perform various physical activities without bleeding and without the need for additional administration of factor VIII just before exercise," a JW Pharmaceutical official said. "We hope that many patients with hemophilia A can perform various physical activities without restrictions through Hemlibra.