The European Commission has issued a green light for Shield Therapeutics’ Feraccru for the treatment of iron deficiency anaemia (IDA) in patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD).
There are around 2.5 million people suffering from IBD in Europe, of which IDA is a common complication affecting up to 74 percent of patients, impacting various aspects of quality of life including physical, emotional and cognitive functions and increasing rates of hospitalisation.
“The Phase III clinical studies clearly demonstrated Feraccru’s effectiveness and this pan-European marketing authorisation gives treating physicians like myself the opportunity to fulfil an important and currently unmet need for patients who are unable to tolerate other oral products, as Feraccru could provide an oral alternative to intravenous iron infusion,’’ commented Andreas Stallmach, Professor of Gastroenterology, University Clinic Jena, Germany.
The directors of Shield, whose ordinary shares and warrants have just started trading on the AIM market of the London Stock Exchange, believe Feraccru (ferric maltol) could generate global peak annual sales opportunity in excess of £500 million.
