Akcea discloses new thrombocytopenia case for volanesorsen

Akcea Therapeutics Inc. (NASDAQ:AKCA) disclosed an additional case of grade 4 thrombocytopenia in an open-label extension of its volanesorsen (IONIS-APOCIIIRx) to treat familial chylomicronemia syndrome (FCS), a rare lipid disorder that results from lipoprotein lipase deficiency.

The company reported the event in its 2017 earnings call after market close on Feb. 26. Akcea said the case was detected early and that the patient's platelet levels returned to normal after stopping treatment. The company said there have been a total of four cases of grade 4 thrombocytopenia across the volanesorsen program for FCS in about 75-90 patients (see BioCentury, March 9, 2017)...