Study shows benefits of Advagraf in Transplant Rejection-Astellas

Results from a large retrospective data analysis published in the American Journal of Transplantation (AJT) showed that liver transplantation patients who were treated early with Advagraf (tacrolimus prolonged release), from Astellas, experienced a significantly increased graft survival benefit of 8% at 3 years post-transplant compared with patients treated with the current standard of care, tacrolimus immediate release (twice daily).

The aim of the ELTR study was to assess the impact of early use of Advagraf versus tacrolimus immediate release (twice daily) and the classical risk factors on long-term transplanted organ survival using real-world ELTR data. The study was a retrospective data analysis of liver transplant patients (>18 years old) receiving either Advagraf (n=528) or tacrolimus immediate release (n=3,839) within the first month of transplantation and with a follow-up period of up to three years. Data was collated over a five year period (Jan 2008 - Dec 2012) from 21 centres that were using both formulations in patients surviving the first month post-transplant. An 8% organ survival advantage was seen in the Advagraf arm versus tacrolimus immediate release, meaning the newly transplanted organs of patients treated with Advagraf were more likely to still be functioning three years post-transplant compared with those treated with tacrolimus immediate release (88% vs. 80%, p=0.01).

See: "Improved survival in liver transplant recipients receiving prolonged-release tacrolimus in the European Liver Transplant Registry." Adam R, Karam V, Delvart V, et al. Am J Transpl 2015; doi: 10.1111/ajt.13171