Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2024 Nov 19:15:1438611.
doi: 10.3389/fphar.2024.1438611. eCollection 2024.

Comparison of the effects of deferasirox film-coated tablets (Jadenu®) and deferasirox dispersible tablets (Exjade®) in patients with beta thalassemia major: a preliminary report of the effects on the satisfaction, convenience, cardiac/liver MRI T2*, serum ferritin level, and biochemical profiles

Mahya Mobinikhaledi  1 , Vahid Falahati  2 , Amin Tajerian  1 , Amir Almasi Hashiani  3 , Kazem Ghaffari  4   5 , Ali Ghasemi  6
Affiliations

Comparison of the effects of deferasirox film-coated tablets (Jadenu®) and deferasirox dispersible tablets (Exjade®) in patients with beta thalassemia major: a preliminary report of the effects on the satisfaction, convenience, cardiac/liver MRI T2*, serum ferritin level, and biochemical profiles

Mahya Mobinikhaledi et al. Front Pharmacol. .

Abstract

Background: Deferasirox (DFX) is a once-daily oral iron chelator with proven dose-dependent efficacy in patients with thalassemia major (TM). The reason for switching from DFX dispersible tablets (Exjade®) to DFX film-coated tablets (Jadenu®) was intolerance. Many patients also reported that deferasirox® did not taste good. In this study, we compared the effect of Jadenu® and Exjade® on satisfaction, convenience, cardiac/liver MRI T2*, serum ferritin levels, and biochemical profiles in patients with thalassemia major.

Method: Sixty-two patients with thalassemia over 2 years of age, who had iron overload indicated by chelation therapy, were randomly divided into two groups. The first group (n = 32) is treated with Exjade®, and the second group (n = 30) is treated with Jadenu®. Laboratory investigations included alkaline phosphatase (ALK), alanine transferase (ALT), aspartate transferase (AST), and serum ferritin levels. Cardiac/liver MRI T2* levels and patient satisfaction and convenience, were assessed before and 1 year after starting therapy.

Results: The study found that 53.3% of Jadenu® patients were satisfied with the taste of the medication compared to only 12.5% of Exjade® patients, which was statistically significant (p = 0.001). Additionally, 40% of Jadenu® patients were satisfied with the ease of taking the medication compared to 28.1% of Exjade® patients, and again, the difference was statistically significant (p = 0.047). A comparison of the cardiac MRI T2* levels between the two studied groups showed no significant difference (p = 0.851).

Conclusion: Jadenu® offers patients an improved formulation that can be taken on an empty stomach, has a better taste, and presents fewer gastrointestinal tolerability concerns. Overall, patient satisfaction is higher with Jadenu®, which may improve adherence and reduce the frequency and severity of complications associated with iron overload. This, in turn, may help mitigate cardiovascular and hepatic complications from iron overload in the long term.

Clinical trial registration: https://irct.behdasht.gov.ir/search/result?query=IRCT20210830052346N1.

Keywords: convenience; deferasirox; heart; iron overload; liver; satisfaction; thalassemia major.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.

Figures

FIGURE 1
FIGURE 1
Flowchart of the study.
FIGURE 2
FIGURE 2
Comparison of AST, ALT, and ALK levels between two study groups treated with Exjade® and Jadenu® at four different times.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

Similar articles

See all similar articles

References

    1. Andrews N. C. (1999). Disorders of iron metabolism. N. Engl. J. Med. 341 (26), 1986–1995. 10.1056/NEJM199912233412607 - DOI - PubMed
    1. Angelucci E., Santini V., Di Tucci A. A., Quaresmini G., Finelli C., Volpe A., et al. (2014). Deferasirox for transfusion-dependent patients with myelodysplastic syndromes: safety, efficacy, and beyond (GIMEMA MDS 0306 T rial). Eur. J. Haematol. 92 (6), 527–536. 10.1111/ejh.12300 - DOI - PubMed
    1. Borgna-Pignatti C., Gamberini M. R. (2011). Complications of thalassemia major and their treatment. Expert Rev. Hematol. 4 (3), 353–366. 10.1586/ehm.11.29 - DOI - PubMed
    1. Chalmers A. W., Shammo J. M. (2016). Evaluation of a new tablet formulation of deferasirox to reduce chronic iron overload after long-term blood transfusions. Ther. Clin. Risk Manag. 12, 201–208. 10.2147/TCRM.S82449 - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Cheng W. Y., Said Q., Hao Y., Xiao Y., Vekeman F., Bobbili P., et al. (2018). Adherence to iron chelation therapy in patients who switched from deferasirox dispersible tablets to deferasirox film-coated tablets. Curr. Med. Res. Opin. 34 (11), 1959–1966. 10.1080/03007995.2018.1470500 - DOI - PubMed

LinkOut - more resources