The Republic of Ireland has become the first country in Europe to switch its entire population with haemophilia A and B treated with short-acting replacement clotting factors to Swedish Orphan Biovitrum’s (Sobi) extended half-life therapies Elocta and Alprolix.

Every person in the country with haemophilia will have access to the latest generation of treatments under two-year supply contracts signed between the Health Services Executive and Sobi.

“With the outcome of the adjudication of both of these tenders, Sobi has demonstrated our desire to provide access to these innovative products in a very sustainable manner,” noted Steve Bojakowski, Sobi’s patient access lead for the UK and the Republic of Ireland.

The Republic of Ireland procurement team has adopted the World Federation of Hemophilia’s guidelines for national tenders for the purchase of clotting factor concentrates.

Under these guidelines, the tender process for the Alprolix and Elocta contracts included doctors and patients in the product evaluation process, while the tender scorecard for the contracts placed emphasis on clinical needs and attributes.

Both Elocta (efmoroctocog alfa) and Alprolix (eftrenonacog alfa) are extended half-life treatments approved for all age groups in the EU.

The therapies offer prolonged protection against bleeding episodes through prophylactic injections, with reducing dosing schedules compared to earlier treatments.

The drugs are both recombinant fusion proteins produced from a human cell line without the addition of human- or animal-derived protein, and can be used in the UK for both prophylaxis and on-demand treatment of bleeding in patients.