Mepolizumab

Specification

• Cat#: THA-0045
• Product Name: Mepolizumab
• Description: Mepolizumab is a fully-humanized monoclonal IgG1 kappa anti-IL-5 antibody used in conjunction with other therapies to treat severe asthma, eosinophilic granulomatosis with polyangiitis, and hypereosinophilic syndrome.
• Sequences: Not Available
• Molecular Weight: 149000.0 Da
• Introduction: Eosinophils are involved in inflammatory immune responses, and prolonged hypereosinophilia (typically defined as absolute eosinophil levels of 1500/mm3 or more) is associated with a spectrum of diseases, including severe asthma, eosinophilic granulomatosis with polyangiitis (EGPA), and hypereosinophilic syndrome (HES). The pathogenesis of eosinophilia is complex, but IL-5 is recognized as a key cytokine involved in the differentiation, recruitment, activation, and prolonged survival of eosinophils in peripheral tissue. Activated eosinophils further stimulate an inflammatory response and also induce tissue lesions and promote fibrosis, all of which contribute to the multifactorial symptomatology of hypereosinophilic diseases. Mepolizumab is a fully-humanized recombinant IgG1 kappa monoclonal antibody directed against IL-5 produced in Chinese hamster ovary cells. Mepolizumab was first approved by the FDA on November 4, 2015, as an add-on therapy for severe asthma and marketed under the brand name Nucala by GlaxoSmithKline. This indication was subsequently expanded to cover EGPA on December 12, 2017, and HES on September 25, 2020.
• Purity: >99% by SDS-Page and HPLC analysis
• Formula: Not Available
• Appearance: Solid

Pharmaceutical Information

• Pharmacodynamics: Mepolizumab is a monoclonal antibody that acts through interleukin-5 (IL-5) antagonism to reduce blood eosinophil levels, generally in the range of 60-90% of baseline depending on dose, which in turn offers therapeutic benefit in the specific conditions for which mepolizumab is indicated. Mepolizumab has a relatively long half-life of between 16 and 22 days, which allows for long-lasting therapeutic benefit and a four-week dosing schedule. Despite a good demonstrated safety profile, mepolizumab use does act to depress part of the immune system and may be associated with increased infections, such as with herpes zoster virus; pre-existing helminth infections should be treated before starting mepolizumab therapy. Inhaled and oral corticosteroids should not be discontinued after starting mepolizumab but may be tapered as appropriate. Mepolizumab should not be used to treat acute bronchospasms or status asthmatics. Finally, hypersensitivity reactions, including anaphylaxis, have been reported in patients; mepolizumab should be discontinued in patients with suspected or confirmed hypersensitivity.
• Targets: Interleukin-5