Enjaymo for Cold Agglutinin Disease
- In February, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved a drug called Enjaymo, or sutimlimab-jome, to treat cold agglutinin disease. Sutimlimab-jome is also a monoclonal antibody drug.
- The drug works by inhibiting the destruction of red blood cells (hemolysis) and decreases the need for red blood cell transfusion in people with CAD.
- CAD is a rare type of autoimmune disorder where a person's body is being attacked by their own immune system.
This is SurvivorNet's guide to taking Enjaymo for CAD. Enjaymo is the first and only U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA)-approved treatment for people with CAD and works by inhibiting the destruction of red blood cells (hemolysis). (More on this in the next section.)
Enjaymo for Cold Agglutinin Disease
Read MoreDr. Roy Smith, a hematologist and oncologist at the University of Pittsburgh, told SurvivorNet that CAD patients can generally see a "dramatic response" over four to six months. However, this medication does not address the issues with cold intolerance.
"So, you can give people this monoclonal antibody … you can give that for four or five days and then repeat it as needed, usually every three or four weeks, depending on how people respond to it, and you would see some very dramatic responses over a relatively short period of time," Dr. Smith explained, noting that the drug has shown a lot of promise.
Understanding CAD
Cold agglutinin disease (CAD) is a rare type of autoimmune disorder where a person's body is being attacked by their own immune system.
CAD can occur on its own, but it can also be caused by several different things, including infections like pneumonia, immune conditions like lupus or blood cancers such as lymphoma or chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL).
When someone has CAD, their immune system mistakenly attacks and destroys their own red blood cells.
"It's really very, very rare, and it's a disease that is very, very commonly misdiagnosed because the guys out the real world just don't see very much of it, and you have to think about it in order to make the diagnosis," Dr. Smith said of CAD.
What is Cold Agglutinin Disease (CAD)?
It's called "cold" agglutinin disease because when an affected person is exposed to cold temperatures, certain proteins that normally attack bacteria (known as IgM antibodies) instead attach themselves to red blood cells and bind them together into clumps (known as agglutination), and these cells are eventually prematurely destroyed. This can lead to anemia (low red blood cells) and other issues. These symptoms may get worse due to lower temperatures.
"The treatment depends on what's causing the disease," Dr. Jun Choi, a hematologist and oncologist at NYU Langone's Perlmutter Cancer Center, told SurvivorNet during a conversation about the condition.
Treating Cold Agglutinin Disease (CAD)
The treatment options for this disorder depend on if the patient has an underlying condition and what that condition is. In some cases, treatment may not be necessary.
Dr. Smith told SurvivorNet that in some instances, simply avoiding the cold may be all the treatment someone needs.
However, when cold agglutinin disease is caused by a blood cancer like lymphoma, your doctor may suggest chemotherapy or a targeted therapy to get the underlying condition under control.
Then, of course, there’s also Enjaymo.
Contributing: Laura Gesualdi-Gilmore
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