A clinical trial of a new treatment for reducing liver damage from paracetamol (acetaminophen) poisoning, has begun at Edinburgh Royal Infirmary.
The trial of 24 patients is evaluating the safety and tolerability of Aladote in combination with the current standard treatment (N-acetylcysteine) for the prevention of acute liver failure due to paracetamol poisoning. Paracetamol poisoning affects approximately 50,000 people in the UK every year.
The clinical study is being run by PledPharma, in collaboration with the University of Edinburgh, under the direction of Dr James Dear, Reader in Pharmacology at the University of Edinburgh, and specialist in paracetamol poisoning. Preclinical animal studies have suggested that the new drug (active ingredient calmangafodipir) may be effective at reducing liver damage in the period more than eight hours after a paracetamol overdose, where N-acetylcysteine is minimally effective.
Dr Dear commented: ˝During the first 24 hours after paracetamol poisoning people usually experience few or no symptoms. Therefore, many patients come to hospital at such a late stage that the current standard treatment is not sufficient to prevent acute liver failure. Calmangafodipir has in preclinical studies demonstrated impressive results even in the late stages of the poisoning process, and I look forward to the results of this important proof-of-principle study.”
