Stanate® for Hyperbilirubinemia:

A First-in-Class Treatment

Stanate® is the first and only pharmaceutical product in development to treat HB. Stanate® - known generically as stannsoporfin - is a heme oxygenase inhibitor. Heme oxygenase is the enzyme that breaks down heme in the body.  Stanate® is intended to significantly reduce the body's production of bilirubin for a period of 6 to 8 days. It is administered via a single, intramuscular injection. Because it works to inhibit production rather than to enhance the elimination of bilirubin, Stanate® has been shown clinically to reduce the levels of bilirubin in the blood, and reduce the need for phototherapy in patients requiring treatment. The mechanism of action is also complimentary to phototherapy. It may be particularly well suited to those patients whose principal issue is a high bilirubin production, such as babies who have hemolytic disease, where the mother has an immune reaction against the baby's red blood cells, or for example, where the baby has an enzyme deficiency that causes red blood cells to fragment (G6PD deficiency)

Stanate® has demonstrated efficacy in a number of neonatal populations, and has a clean toxicity/safety record in patients followed up to 6 years. The drug's only notable side effect is a potential transient and self limiting erythema, or skin rash, when used in conjunction with non blue light phototherapy.

See Clinical Trials for information on the clinical development of Stanate®.