Xiaflex

Xiaflex is a pharmaceutical approved for the nonsurgical treatment of Dupuytren's contracture, a condition of the hand resulting in bent fingers that cannot be straightened. It is the first approved nonsurgical treatment for the condition.

Xiaflex is the brand name of collagenase clostridium histolyticum of a variety of collagenase. Collagenases are enzymes that break down collagen, the substance that builds up in tendon sheathes in the hands of sufferers of Dupuytren's. The same variety of collagen fibrosis occurs in Peyronie's disease, a contracture of the penis.

Xiaflex was developed by BioSpecifics Technologies, and is produced by the Clostridium histolyticum bacteria. The drug is to be manufactured and marketed by Auxilium Pharmaceuticals, Inc.

It was approved by the United States Food and Drug Administration in February 2010 for injection in adult patients with Dupuytren's with a palpable cord.

External links

• Official website
• Photo of Patient

Pollack, Andrew (March 15, 2010). "Triumph for Drug to Straighten Clenched Fingers". The New York Times. Retrieved March 16, 2010. 

Pollack, Andrew (March 15, 2010). "Bringing Movement Back to Clenched Hands". The New York Times. Retrieved March 16, 2010. 

"FDA Approves Xiaflex for Debilitating Hand Condition". Food and Drug Administration. February 2, 2010. Retrieved March 16, 2010.