AddMedica, Abacus Medicine team up to market Siklos in 3 countries

AddMedica and Abacus Medicine Pharma Services have partnered to market and distribute the sickle cell disease (SCD) therapy Siklos (hydroxyurea) to patients ages 2 and older across Benelux — the economic region of Belgium, the Netherlands, and Luxembourg.

In entering into the partnership, the companies agreed that Siklos will be in stock and ready for purchase in the three neighboring countries in western Europe. The deal, they say, ensures access to the medicine to anyone with SCD who needs it in the Benelux union.

“This partnership agreement … is a fantastic opportunity as it unlocks the potential of Siklos in the Benelux countries,” Simon Estcourt, managing director of Abacus Medicine, said in a company press release.

“We are delighted that this distribution agreement will make this treatment option available to patients in Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg,” Estcourt added.

SCD is a genetic disease in which red blood cells become rigid, sticky, and misshapen — changing from a typical disc-like shape to a sickle-like shape, from which the disorder gets its name.

Painful vaso-occlusive crises (VOCs) occur when sickle-shaped red blood cells clog tiny blood vessels in the body, interrupting blood flow and oxygen supply to tissues. Blood vessel obstruction can happen anywhere in the body and cause severe pain and swelling. Sometimes, tissues may become damaged.

Siklos is thought to help prevent red blood cells from taking on a sickle-like shape and lower the risk of VOCs by stimulating the production of an alternative version of hemoglobin normally produced during fetal development. Called fetal hemoglobin, it’s more effective at transporting oxygen than its adult counterpart, which is faulty in SCD.

AddMedica is very proud to join forces with Abacus Medicine Pharma Services to keep enhancing access to treatment for sickle-cell disease patients as well as the reach of Siklos in important European countries.

In Europe, the Siklos is specifically indicated for the prevention of recurrent painful VOCs in adults, adolescents, and children ages 2 and older with SCD.

In Belgium, the Netherlands, and Luxembourg, the therapy is available as 100 mg, film-coated tablets, taken by mouth once daily, preferably in the morning before breakfast.

In the Netherlands, the medicine also is available as 1,000-mg film-coated tablets with special score lines that allow each tablet to be easily split into four equal parts of 250 mg.

“AddMedica is very proud to join forces with Abacus Medicine Pharma Services to keep enhancing access to treatment for sickle-cell disease patients as well as the reach of Siklos in important European countries,” said Franck Hamalian, president of AddMedica.

Siklos’ active ingredient, hydroxyurea, has been used for years in the treatment of other diseases, including some types of cancer.

In the U.S., Siklos also is approved to reduce the frequency of painful VOCs and the need for blood transfusions in people with sickle cell anemia, the most common and often the most severe form of SCD. The therapy is indicated in the U.S. for patients ages 2 and older with recurrent moderate to severe crises.