Teprotumumab, sold under the brand name Tepezza, is a medication used to treat adults with thyroid eye disease.
Thyroid eye disease is a rare condition where the muscles and fatty tissues behind the eye become inflamed, causing the eyes to bulge outwards.
Teprotumumab’s most common side effects are muscle spasm, nausea, hair loss, diarrhea, fatigue, high blood sugar, hearing loss, dry skin, altered sense of taste, and headache.
Teprotumumab should not be used if pregnant, and counseled on pregnancy prevention during treatment and for six months following the last dose.
It is considered to be a first-in-class medication.
More participants treated with teprotumumab compared with placebo had a meaningful improvement in proptosis: 82.9% of teprotumumab participants compared to 9.5% of placebo participants achieved the primary endpoint of a 2 mm or more reduction in proptosis.
Proptosis is the main cause of morbidity in thyroid eye disease.
Of the subjects who were administered Tepezza, 71% in study 1 and 83% in study 2 demonstrated a greater than 2 mm reduction in proptosis as compared to 20% and 10% of subjects who received placebo, respectively.
The insulin-like growth factor I receptor (IGF-IR) is overexpressed by orbital fibroblasts and B and T cells in Graves’ disease and thyroid eye disease plays a role of central role.
Thyrotropin receptors and insulin-like growth factor I receptors form a physical and functional complexes that cause thyroid eye disease, including hyaluronan accumulation and cytokine expression, resulting in inflammation, edema, and expansion of extraocular muscles and adipose tissue.
With active Graves’ ophthalmopathy it is more effective than placebo in reducing the clinical activity score and proptosis.
Trade name Tepezza.
More patients treated with teprotumumab compared with placebo had a meaningful improvement in proptosis, or bulging of the eye: 82.9 percent of teprotumumab patients compared to 9.5 percent of placebo patients achieved the primary endpoint of a 2 mm or more reduction in proptosis.
Proptosis is the main cause of morbidity in thyroid eye disease.