Deferiprone

Deferiprone (tradenames include Ferriprox) is an oral drug that chelates iron and is used to treat thalassaemia major.

It has been licensed for use in Europe and Asia for many years while awaiting approval in Canada and the United States. On October 14, 2011, however, "the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved Ferriprox (deferiprone) to treat patients with iron overload due to blood transfusions in patients with thalassemia, a genetic blood disorder that causes anemia, who had an inadequate response to prior chelation therapy... The therapy is being approved under the FDA’s accelerated approval program, designed to provide patients with earlier access to promising new drugs followed by further studies to confirm the drug’s clinical benefit. The accelerated approval program allows the agency to approve a drug to treat a serious disease based on clinical data showing that the drug has an effect on an endpoint that is reasonably likely to predict a clinical benefit to patients...."

Deferiprone is in clinical trials in the United States to treat Contrast-Induced Acute Kidney Injury and to slow progression of Chronic Kidney Disease; the trials are being conducted by the biotech company, Cormedix.