Rurioctocog alfa pegol

Rurioctocog alfa pegol is a pegylated recombinant human coagulation factor VIII or antihemophilic factor. Factor VIII is an essential protein involved in normal blood clotting; thus, a deficient level of functional factor VIII is associated with an elevated risk for excessive bleeding caused by spontaneous or secondary events like trauma or surgery. Hemophilia A is the most common inherited bleeding disorder leading to deficiency of factor VIII, which is caused by defects in the F8C gene that encodes coagulation factor VIII. Bleeding in joints is a common manifestation of hemophilia A, and bleeding episodes can be severe and life-threatening like intracranial hemorrhage. Rurioctocog alfa pegol aims to restore functional levels of factor VIII in patients with hemophilia A to manage and prevent bleeding episodes. It was first approved by the European Commission in January 2018. Rurioctocog alfa pegol is a covalent conjugate of octocog alfa, which is a recombinant factor VIII produced by recombinant DNA technology from a Chinese hamster ovary cell line. The presence of the polyethylene glycol (PEG) moiety increases the plasma half-life of the drug, thereby increasing the drug's duration of action.