New drug for kids with CAPS

Children in the UK who have CAPS now have access to a drug called Anakinra (Kineret).

CAPS is an umbrella term for a number of rare, life-long autoinflammatory diseases.

The drug is an interleukin-1 (IL-1) inhibitor, and can be used in children as young as eight months, says the Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency.

“Paediatricians looking after young children with CAPS are delighted that medicines to treat this condition are increasingly available to be used in patients from very early in life,” says Dr Paul Brogan from Great Ormond Street Hospital NHS Foundation Trust. “We believe that early diagnosis, and institution of appropriate treatment in a timely fashion will reduce suffering, and long-term complications of this genetic disease.”

A major benefit of the new drug is that it can be administered at home, unlike others that require patients to visit a clinic.