Complement Platform
The human immune system can respond to foreign organisms such as bacteria and viruses
in two different ways: by making antibodies that bind to such invaders in the blood,
thus marking them for destruction by white blood cells, or, by employing specific
complement proteins that are already in the blood to mark and attack these foreign
particles.
While complement is essential to maintaining health, it can also destroy healthy
cells and tissue. To prevent this, the body normally produces a range of specialized
complement inhibitors to protect itself. In other complement-mediated disorders,
such as atypical Hemolotyic Uremic Syndrome (aHUS), healthy tissue is attacked when
complement is activated inappropriately or excessively.
Soliris® (eculizumab) is a first-in-class complement
inhibitor. As the first company to discover, develop and commercialize a terminal
complement inhibitor, Alexion is a world leader in complement inhibition. It is
believed that therapeutic complement inhibition can help patients with a number
of different complement-mediated diseases, and we are actively researching Soliris
for the treatment of these patients.