Control of hemolysis in patients with PNH

Paroxysmal nocturnal hemoglobinuria (PNH) is characterized by the triad of intravascular hemolysis (IVH), a tendency to thrombosis, and an element of bone marrow failure. With the introduction of the anti-C5 antibody eculizumab (ECU),¹ IVH and associated symptoms are abrogated, and the risk of thrombosis is greatly reduced; however, most patients remain anemic, and some remain transfusion dependent.² In this issue of Blood, Kulasekararaj et al³ report that danicopan (DNC), an inhibitor of complement factor D, added to ECU, corrects or at least ameliorates the anemia.

This important clinical result is also of great interest with respect to pathophysiology (see figure panels A-B). When a patient with PNH is on ECU, red cells no longer suffer complement-mediated lysis, but unlysed red cells undergo opsonization by C3 fragments (see figure, panel C) and are thus marked for removal by macrophages. In patients who are on ECU, extravascular hemolysis (EVH) is a regular iatrogenic feature⁴; its clinical correlates are persistent anemia with reticulocytosis and hyperbiluribinemia, sometimes with visible jaundice.

Overcoming EVH has been a major stimulus for introducing agents that act upstream of C5 on the proximal complement pathway. There are now 3 such agents: pegcetacoplan (APL2), which is already approved by the US Food and Drug Administration,⁵ as well as iptacopan (IPT)⁶ and DNC, both of which are in phase 3 trials. In this context, the findings by Kulasekararaj et al are most relevant: DNC, in patients who are already on ECU, causes an increase in hemoglobin, a decrease in reticulocytes, and a decrease in bilirubin, which is exactly what one would expect when, with IVH already controlled by ECU, EVH is curbed as well. Of course the patients feel better, and Figure 3 in the article by Kulasekararaj et al illustrates a gratifying abolition of blood transfusion requirements in all but 1 patient. The decrease in the proportion of C3d-coated red cells is not as great as one might have hoped; perhaps plasma levels are not always optimal, and the dosage may need adjustments. Patient-to-patient variability in this parameter might also depend on the complement receptor 1 genotype,⁷ which will require testing.

Because the complement system is part of innate immunity, tampering with it should not be taken lightly. Congenital C3 deficiency is associated with a risk for serious infection from capsulated and gram-negative bacteria; iatrogenic C3 deficiency may be less complete, but the same risk can be expected. We note, however, that with normally developed acquired immunity, the defensive function of complement may be less crucial in adults than in children.⁸ 

Inhibition of complement at the level of C3 can also largely preempt the distal pathway; therefore, in principle, any of the 3 agents mentioned above might control hemolysis in PNH on its own. This is not to say that the 3 are equivalent: APL2 targets C3 itself, a proenzyme and one of the most abundant plasma proteins (1.2 g/L); IPT targets factor B (plasma concentration of 200 mg/L), another proenzyme of the alternative pathway C3 convertase; and DNC targets factor D (plasma concentration 1 mg/L), the serine protease that cleaves-activates factor B (see figure). All of the drug-target interactions have been solved at the molecular level, but target concentrations and characteristics of the 3 drugs differ: the choice among them may not prove easy. Some of us believe that the price of a drug should not be dictated simply by market forces⁹; however, the benchmark will be the current price of ECU, which is still unaffordable for more than half of the world. One might hope that, for once, competition will bring prices down.

With the advent of these new agents, the issue of monotherapy vs combination therapy is here with us. So far, most data are from patients who are already on ECU (or ravulizumab), but with DNC as a single agent, the distal pathway is already largely disabled (see figure, panel D). It seems reasonable that you do not need to use your foot brake when the handbrake is already on. The two brakes are not uniformly equivalent because with DNC and IPT the classic pathway C5 convertase can still be formed (see figure, panel D); however, the patients themselves will prefer one regular regimen rather than two.

A typical adverse event in the management of a patient with PNH is the so-called “breakthrough IVH”; on intravenous ECU, it can occur when massive complement activation (eg, from intercurrent infection) displaces ECU from C5. In a patient who is on an oral or subcutaneous drug (eg, ITP, DNC, APL2), it may occur simply because the patient has skipped a couple of doses. Having looked after patients with PNH for some decades before ECU,² when massive hemolytic attacks were not infrequent (and I have never lost a patient from one), I would not be too concerned by an occasional minor breakthrough IVH. However, the proportion of PNH red cells is usually <50% in untreated patients, in whom the total red cell mass is reduced as a result of anemia. In patients who are on complement-blockade therapy, instead, the red cell mass may be normal, and the proportion of PNH red cells may be >90%; thus, the complement-sensitive red cell population is much larger, and, therefore, the threat to life from a hemolytic attack is greater. Three things will be crucial: (1) dosage and pharmacokinetics, as it is not clear that they have been optimized for any of the upstream drugs; (2) very strict adherence to the schedule, demanding as it may be; and (3) one must have a protocol to deal with a sudden hemolytic contingency. An antibody, compared with most small molecules, has the advantage of a long in vivo half-life; for any patient on alternative pathway monotherapy, I recommend always having a dose of ECU on hand for emergency use.

Finally, I recall that when I saw my first patient with PNH I could only offer supportive treatment; I feel humbled because today we have the luxury of keenly debating which of several sophisticated targeted medicines is best. I am grateful for all I have learned from patients with PNH in 5 countries; we owe it to them to use each of these medicines optimally and safely, and we must make them available to all patients who may benefit.