Scorpion antivenin approved

Abstract

FDA on August 3 announced the approval of Anascorp, an equine-plasma-derived product indicated for the treatment of scorpion stings. Known formally as Centruroides (scorpion) immune F(ab’)2 (equine) injection, Anascorp is the first product approved in the United States as a specific treatment for envenomation in patients stung by Centruroides scorpions. This genus includes the bark scorpion, which is common in and around Arizona and is considered the most dangerous scorpion in the United States. According to the University of Arizona, which led the clinical trials of Anascorp, about 8000 scorpion stings occur each year in the state. Several hundred stings, most of them in children, result in serious nerve poisoning. Anascorp was approved on the basis of data from a placebo-controlled study involving 15 children with neurologic signs of scorpion stings, according to FDA. In this study, the neurologic signs resolved within four hours for all eight children treated with Anascorp but only one of the placebo recipients. FDA stated that safety and efficacy data have been collected from 1534 patients who participated in clinical trials of the antivenin.