Halozyme Therapeutics has announced that Takeda received regulatory approval for HYQVIA (Immune Globulin Infusion 10 percent (Human) with Halozyme's Recombinant Human Hyaluronidase) by the Japanese Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare (MHLW) for patients with agammaglobulinemia or hypogammaglobulinemia, disorders characterized by very low or absent levels of antibodies and an increased risk of serious recurring infection caused by primary immunodeficiency (PID) or secondary immunodeficiency (SID).

HYQVIA® is the first plasma-derived therapy for subcutaneous injection in Japan that consists of a combination of one vial of Immunoglobulin 10 percent and one vial of Recombinant Human Hyaluronidase PH20 (rHuPH20), which is Halozyme's ENHANZE drug delivery technology. The administration of ENHANZE® increases the dispersion and absorption of immunoglobulin (IG) in the subcutaneous tissue, allowing larger volumes to be infused in the infusion site.

This allows for less frequent dosing compared to other subcutaneous IG products, while avoiding the need for venous access. The ability to infuse a larger infusion volume is expected to increase administration flexibility for patients with agammaglobulinemia or hypogammaglobulinemia by decreasing the dosing frequency to once every 3 or 4 weeks, as compared to weekly or bi-weekly with conventional SCIG treatments.

"We are very pleased that patients in Japan with agammaglobulinemia or hypogammaglobulinemia can now access HYQVIA, which represents the first and only subcutaneous immunoglobulin therapy that offers the potential of a reduced dosing frequency. We appreciate the opportunity to continue to provide patients with more flexible treatment options with our innovative drug delivery technology," said Dr. Helen Torley, President and Chief Executive Officer of Halozyme.

The MHLW approval is based on data from two pivotal Phase 3, open-label, non-controlled studies evaluating the efficacy, safety, tolerability and pharmacokinetics in Japanese subjects with PID (NCT05150340, NCT05513586). In these studies, the efficacy and safety profile of HYQVIA® in 16 patients aged 2 years or older in Japan were evaluated based on the results of the clinical trials.

The Geo Mean of IgG trough level at the last 3 visits was 9.494g/L and was maintained at level comparable to treatment with intravenous or subcutaneous immunoglobulin (Geo Mean of IgG trough level 9.624g/L). The major adverse reactions were pyrexia 5 patients (31.3 percent) and infusion site erythema, injection site erythema, infusion site swelling, infusion site pain, and headache (12.5 percent). Data from two Phase 3 clinical trials conducted in patients with PID in North America (NCT00814320, NCT01175213) was also included in the submission.