FNAIT Systematic Literature Review and Meta-Analysis Presented at the Academy of Managed Care Pharmacy 2024 Annual Meeting - Seite 2

The poster, titled “Fetal and Neonatal Alloimmune Thrombocytopenia: A Systematic Literature Review and Meta-analysis of Adverse Pregnancy-Related Outcomes to Support the Development of a Novel Prophylactic Therapeutic,” was presented by Andrea V. Margulis of RTI Health Solutions. Specifically, the literature review found that, of 198,062 screened pregnant women, 2.2% (95% confidence interval [CI], 2.0%-2.5%) were HPA-1a negative; 32.3% (28.6%-36.1%) of HPA-1a–negative women were HLA-DRB3*01:01 positive and therefore at even higher risk for alloimmunization. Approximately 10% of HPA-1a–negative women were already alloimmunized to HPA-1a. The meta-analysis is based on 12 observational cohort studies from Europe, Canada, and Egypt published from 1985 through 2018. A link to the poster is available here.

About FNAIT

Fetal and Neonatal Alloimmune Thrombocytopenia (FNAIT) is a potentially life-threatening rare disease that can cause uncontrolled bleeding in fetuses and newborns. FNAIT can arise during pregnancy due to an immune incompatibility between an expectant mother and her fetus in a specific platelet antigen called human platelet antigen 1, or HPA-1.

There are two predominant forms of HPA-1, known as HPA-1a and HPA-1b, which are expressed on the surface of platelets. Individuals who are homozygous for HPA-1b, meaning that they have two copies of the HPA-1b allele and no copies of the HPA-1a allele, are also known as HPA-1a negative. Upon exposure to the HPA-1a antigen, these individuals can develop antibodies to that antigen in a process known as alloimmunization. In HPA-1a-negative expectant mothers bearing a HPA-1a-positive fetus, alloimmunization can occur upon mixing of fetal blood with maternal blood. When alloimmunization occurs in an expectant mother, the anti-HPA-1a antibodies that develop in the mother can cross the placenta and destroy platelets in the fetus. The destruction of platelets in the fetus can result in severely low platelet counts, or thrombocytopenia, and potentially lead to devastating consequences including miscarriage, stillbirth, death of the newborn, or severe lifelong neurological disability in those babies who survive. There is currently no approved therapy for the prevention or prenatal treatment of FNAIT.