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Asparlas (CALASPARGASE PEGOL)
Asparlas depletes asparagine, an amino acid that cancer cells rely on for growth.
Asparlas (calaspargase pegol) is a small molecule asparagine-specific enzyme developed by Servier Pharma LLC. It is used to treat acute lymphoblastic leukemia, a type of blood cancer. Asparlas works by depleting asparagine, an amino acid that cancer cells rely on for growth. It is FDA-approved and remains a patented product. Key safety considerations include hypersensitivity reactions and pancreatitis.
At a glance
| Generic name | CALASPARGASE PEGOL |
|---|---|
| Sponsor | Servier Pharma Llc |
| Drug class | Asparagine-specific Enzyme [EPC] |
| Modality | Enzyme |
| Therapeutic area | Oncology |
| Phase | FDA-approved |
| First approval | 2018 |
Mechanism of action
L-asparaginase is an enzyme that catalyzes the conversion of the amino acid L-asparagine into aspartic acid and ammonia. The pharmacological effect of ASPARLAS is thought to be based on the killing of leukemic cells due to depletion of plasma asparagine. Leukemic cells with low expression of asparagine synthetase have reduced ability to synthesize asparagine, and therefore depend on an exogenous source of asparagine for survival.
Approved indications
- Acute lymphoblastic leukemia
Common side effects
- Elevated transaminase
- Bilirubin increased
- Pancreatitis
- Abnormal clotting studies
- Diarrhea
- Hypersensitivity
- Embolic and thrombotic events
- Sepsis
- Dyspnea
- Hemorrhages
- Fungal infection
- Pneumonia
Key clinical trials
- Testing the Addition of the Anti-cancer Drug Venetoclax and/or the Anti-cancer Immunotherapy Blinatumomab to the Usual Chemotherapy Treatment for Infants With Newly Diagnosed KMT2A-rearranged or KMT2A-non-rearranged Leukemia (PHASE2)
- A Phase 2 Study to Evaluate Efficacy of Calaspargase Pegol-mknl and Decitabine Combined With Venetoclax in Pediatric, Adolescent, and Young Adult Patients With Relapsed/Refractory T-cell Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia (T-ALL) and T- Cell Lymphoblastic Lymphoma (T-LLy) (PHASE2)
- A Study Testing the Combination of Dasatinib or Imatinib to Chemotherapy Treatment With Blinatumomab for Children, Adolescents, and Young Adults With Philadelphia Chromosome Positive (Ph+) or ABL-Class Philadelphia Chromosome-Like (Ph-Like) B-cell Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia (B-ALL) (PHASE3)
- Studying the Effect of Levocarnitine in Protecting the Liver From Chemotherapy for Leukemia or Lymphoma (PHASE3)
- Venetoclax Basket Trial for High Risk Hematologic Malignancies (PHASE1)
- Inotuzumab Ozogamicin and Post-Induction Chemotherapy in Treating Patients With High-Risk B-ALL, Mixed Phenotype Acute Leukemia, and B-LLy (PHASE3)
- CalPeg for Newly Diagnosed Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia (ALL) (PHASE1)
- Adding Dasatinib Or Venetoclax To Improve Responses In Children With Newly Diagnosed T-Cell Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia (ALL) Or Lymphoma (T-LLY) Or Mixed Phenotype Acute Leukemia (MPAL) (PHASE2)
Primary sources
Every claim on this page is sourced from regulatory or scientific primary sources. See our editorial policy for full methodology.
| Source | Used for |
|---|---|
| FDA label | Mechanism, indications, dosing, boxed warnings, drug interactions |
| ClinicalTrials.gov | Trial enrolment, design, endpoints, results |
Competitive intelligence
For the full competitive landscape — auto-detected comparators, recent regulatory actions across the set, upcoming PDUFA, patent timeline, sponsor landscape:
- Asparlas CI brief — competitive landscape report
- Asparlas updates RSS · CI watch RSS
- Servier Pharma Llc portfolio CI