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ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

Front. Pharmacol.
Sec. Pharmacoepidemiology
Volume 15 - 2024 | doi: 10.3389/fphar.2024.1475884
This article is part of the Research Topic Pharmacoepidemiology in Chronic Diseases View all 4 articles

Comprehensive Analysis of Adverse Events Associated with Onasemnogene Abeparvovec (Zolgensma) in Spinal Muscular Atrophy Patients: Insights from FAERS Database

Provisionally accepted
Wenwen Zhang Wenwen Zhang *Yizhen Yin Yizhen Yin *Dan Yang Dan Yang *Mengyuan Liu Mengyuan Liu *Caixia Ye Caixia Ye *Ruiling Yan Ruiling Yan *Ruiman Li Ruiman Li *
  • First Affiliated Hospital of Jinan University, Guangzhou, China

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    Onasemnogene Abeparvovec (Zolgensma) is a gene therapy for the treatment of Spinal Muscular Atrophy (SMA) with improved motor neuron function and the potential for a singular treatment. Information on its adverse drug reactions is mainly from clinical trials and real-world studies with extensive sample sizes are lacking. In this study, we analyzed the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's Adverse Event Reporting System (FAERS) database to assess the drug safety profile of Zolgensma. A total of 1951 adverse event reports associated with onasemnogene abeparvovec (Zolgensma), containing 778 import important medical event (IME) signals, were identified from the FAERS database, and multiple disproportionate analysis algorithms were used to determine the significance of these adverse events. This study identified 281 onasemnogene abeparvovec-related adverse events (AEs), including some significant adverse events not mentioned in the product labelling. Elevated liver enzymes, fever, vomiting, and thrombocytopenia were the most common adverse reactions. Most adverse events manifested within the initial month of onasemnogene abeparvovec use, especially the first 8 days, but some may still occur after 1 year of treatment. Sex-specific scrutiny revealed differing risk levels for adverse events among women and men. Thrombocytopenia and thrombotic microangiopathy are more common in patients weighing ≥ 8.5kg, and changes in renal function need to be closely monitored if thrombotic microangiopathy occurs. The above findings provide valuable insights into optimizing the utilization of onasemnogene abeparvovec, improving its effectiveness, and minimizing potential side effects, thereby greatly facilitating its practical application in clinical settings.

    Keywords: Zolgensma, Gene Therapy, FAERS, spinal muscular atrophy, adverse drug event

    Received: 04 Aug 2024; Accepted: 20 Dec 2024.

    Copyright: © 2024 Zhang, Yin, Yang, Liu, Ye, Yan and Li. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence:
    Wenwen Zhang, First Affiliated Hospital of Jinan University, Guangzhou, China
    Yizhen Yin, First Affiliated Hospital of Jinan University, Guangzhou, China
    Dan Yang, First Affiliated Hospital of Jinan University, Guangzhou, China
    Mengyuan Liu, First Affiliated Hospital of Jinan University, Guangzhou, China
    Caixia Ye, First Affiliated Hospital of Jinan University, Guangzhou, China
    Ruiling Yan, First Affiliated Hospital of Jinan University, Guangzhou, China
    Ruiman Li, First Affiliated Hospital of Jinan University, Guangzhou, China

    Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.