Access to immunoglobulin therapies for patients living with immunodeficiencies
This statement outlines IPOPI’s position on the critical importance of ensuring access to the most appropriate immunoglobulin (Ig) therapy for patients living with immunodeficiencies. This includes primarily patients living with a primary immunodeficiency (PIDs) and associated conditions, but also certain secondary immunodeficiencies (SIDs). IPOPI emphasises that treatment decisions regarding Ig therapy should always be based on a doctor-patient shared decision-making process. IPOPI is concerned by recent developments in several countries that may restrict access to the most suitable Ig therapy for individual patients or compel PID patients to switch between Ig therapies for non-clinical reasons.
A significant number of immunodeficient patients depend on Ig therapies, which are life-saving biological therapies derived from human plasma. Ig therapy is the most important treatment for a majority of PIDs, as it helps to protect patients against a range of infections and to reduce autoimmune symptoms. It is used to treat various PIDs, including but not limited to common variable immunodeficiency (CVID), X-linked agammaglobulinaemia (XLA), X-linked hyper-immunoglobulin M (Hyper-IgM) syndrome, Ataxia Telangiectasia (AT), Wiskott-Aldrich syndrome (WAS), severe combined immunodeficiency (SCID) and other combined immunodeficiencies. For these patients, Ig therapy is a life-long, life-saving treatment which must be administered regularly and for which there is no alternative treatment. Ig therapy is also increasingly used to treat patients living with certain SIDs. While some SID patients will require Ig therapy, others will not. Ig therapy is primarily used for SID patients with severe antibody failure due to underlying diseases or medical treatments. In some instances, Ig therapy for SID may also only be required on a short-term basis until the immune system recovers.
