Table 1.
Interferon (IFN) alpha formulations in clinical practice.
| Type of IFN | Brand name | Chemical modification | Structure | Company | Source | Recommendation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lymphoblastoid IFN alpha N1 | Wellferon® | Not done | Mixture of natural human IFNs alpha subtypes | Glaxo Wellcome | Lymphoblastoid (Namalva) cells | Hairy cell leukemia, juvenile laryngeal papillomatosis, condylomata acuminata, chronic hepatitis B or C |
| Natural human leukocyte IFN alpha | Alfaferone® | Not done | Mixture of natural human IFNs alpha subtypes | Alfa Wassermann | Human leukocyte | Hairy cell leukemia, multiple myeloma, non-Hodgkin lymphoma, follicular lymphoma, chronic myelogenous leukemia, malignant melanoma, AIDS-related Kaposi's sarcoma, chronic hepatitis B or C |
| HuIFN alpha-Le | Multiferon® | Not done | Human leukocyte IFN alpha (IFN alfa-1, 2b, 8, 10, 14, 21) | Swedish Orphan International | Human leukocyte | Malignant melanoma; treatment of patients who initially respond to recombinant IFN-alpha, but for whom treatment subsequently fails, most likely as the result of neutralizing antibodies |
| IFN alpha 2b | Intron A® | Not done | 165 amino acids (19 kDa) Arginine at position 23, deletion at position 44 |
Schering-Plough | Trasformed E. coli | Chronic hepatitis B or C, hairy cell leukemia, follicular lymphoma, condylomata acuminata, AIDS-related Kaposi's sarcoma and malignant melanoma |
| IFN alpha 2a | Roferon-A® | Not done | 165 amino acids (19 kDa) Lysine at position 23, deletion at position 44 |
Hoffmann – La Roche Inc. | Trasformed E. coli | Chronic hepatitis B or C, hairy cell leukemia, chronic myelogenous leukemia |
| Consensus IFN (IFN alfacon-1) | Infergen® | ≈89% homology with IFN alpha and 30% homology with IFN beta | 166 amino acids (19.4 kDa) |
Kadmon Corporation | Trasformed E. coli | Chronic hepatitis C, hairy cell leukemia |
| Pegylated IFN alpha 2b | PegIntron® | 12 kDa linear pegylated molecule | 165 amino acids (19 kDa) |
Schering-Plough | Trasformed E. coli | Chronic hepatitis C |
| Pegylated IFN alpha 2a | Pegasys® | 40 kDa branched pegylated molecule | 165 amino acids (19 kDa) |
Hoffmann – La Roche Inc. | Trasformed E. coli | Chronic hepatitis B, chronic hepatitis C |
| Pegylated IFN alpha 2a | Reiferon Retard® – Egypt |
20 kDa linear pegylated molecule | 165 amino acids (19 kDa) |
Rhein-Minapharm | Trasformed Hansenula polymorpha | Chronic hepatitis C |
| Pegylated IFN alpha 2b | Sylatron™ | 31 kDa pegylated molecule | 165 amino acids (19 kDa) |
Schering Corporation | Trasformed E. coli | Melanoma after surgery |