Table 2.
New interferon alpha formulations in clinical practice.
| Type of IFN | Brand name | Chemical modification | Structure | Company | Source | Recommendation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Albinterferon alpha 2b (Albuferon) | JOULFERON® Zalbin™ |
r-Human albumin modified IFN alpha 2b | 165 amino acids (19 kDa) | Human Genome Sciences Inc./Novartis International AG | Transformed Kluyveromyces | Chronic hepatitis C |
| IFN alpha 2b | Locteron® | PolyActive® technologya-based controlled-release recombinant formulation | 165 amino acids (19 kDa) | Biolex Therapeutics | Trasformed E. coli | Chronic hepatitis C |
| IFN alpha 2b | IFN alfa-2b XL | Medusa® technologyb-based recombinant formulation | 165 amino acids (19.4 kDa) | Flamel Technologies | Trasformed E. coli | Chronic hepatitis C |
| IFN alpha | Belerofon® | Single aa mutation that lowers sensitivity to protease-mediated degradation | N.A.c | Nautilus Biotech | N.A.c | Chronic hepatitis C |
| IFN alpha | Novaferon | Artificial design technology combining DNA-shuffling and High throughput screening | 82% sequence identity to IFN alpha 2b (19 kDa) | N.A. | N.A. | N.A |
a
Biodegradable polymeric drug delivery system.
b
Nanoparticles delivery system.
c
Not available.