Bromelain (pharmacology)

Bromelain (pharmacology)
Clinical data
Trade names NexoBrid
AHFS/Drugs.com UK Drug Information
Routes of
administration
Locally onto the wound
Legal status
Legal status
  • UK: POM (Prescription only)
  • ℞ (Prescription only)
Pharmacokinetic data
Bioavailability Depends on would surface and depth
Protein binding ~50% (bromelain)
Biological half-life 11.7±3.5 (8.5–19.9) hrs
Identifiers
ATC code D03BA03 (WHO)
ChemSpider none
Chemical data
Formula Varies

A concentrate of proteolytic enzymes from the pineapple plant enriched in bromelain is approved in Europe for the debridement (removal of eschar, that is dead and damaged tissue) of severe burn wounds under the trade name NexoBrid.[1] In the US, it has completed Phase III clinical trials and has the tentative trade name Debrase. It was developed by MediWound, Germany; and Teva is responsible for development and marketing in the US.[2]

The medicine has been granted orphan drug status by the European Medicines Agency (EMA).[3]

Medical uses

The medication is approved for burns of degrees IIb, i.e. deep partial skin thickness burns, to III, i.e. full thickness burns, and has been shown to significantly reduce the necessity of surgical debridement (15% versus 63% under standard treatment) and skin transplants (18% versus 34%) in a randomized controlled trial.[3][4]

The concentrate is solved in a sterile gel basis, applied onto the burn wound, covered with a wound dressing, and removed after four hours. The healthy surrounding skin has to be protected with a sterile paraffin ointment. The EMA recommends that the treatment should only be used in hospitals with specialised burns centres.[1]

Contraindications and adverse effects

Predictably, the bromelain gel is contraindicated in persons allergic to pineapple or the enzyme papain.[1]

The most common side effects are fever (19% of patients in studies) and local pain (3.6%). Wound infections occur no more frequently than under standard treatment.[1]

Interactions

The enzymes in NexoBrid inhibit the liver enzymes CYP2C8 and CYP2C9 when ingested. These are involved in the breaking down of a number of drugs, including amiodarone, chloroquine, ibuprofen, and warfarin. It is not known whether this mechanism has any clinical relevance.[5]

Pharmacokinetics

Depending on the surface area and depth of the wound, bromelain blood serum concentrations of no more than 40 µg/ml are expected, with peak concentrations reached after 2 to 4 hours. The terminal half-life varied between 8.5 and 19.9 hours in studies. These data have been obtained from 15 patients with comparatively shallow wounds.[3][5]

Physical and chemical properties

The medication is extracted from the stem of the pineapple plant (Ananas comosus)[5] by a standardised process, and each lot has to be analysed for its chemical composition. It contains a mixture of proteolytic enzymes, the main compound being stem bromelain. Bromelain is thought to be the active ingredient, but this has not been determined in studies.[3]

The gel basis contains water, carbomer as a gelling agent, and a disodium hydrogen phosphate/sodium hydroxide buffer.[3]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 "EPAR summary for the public: NexoBrid" (PDF). European Medicines Agency. December 2012.
  2. "New Drugs Online Report for bromelain". Uk Medicines Information. Retrieved 28 March 2015.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 A. Klement (2 February 2015). "NexoBrid". Österreichische Apothekerzeitung (in German) (3/2015): 10f.
  4. Rosenberg, L; Krieger, Y; Bogdanov-Berezovski, A; Silberstein, E; Shoham, Y; Singer, A. J. (2014). "A novel rapid and selective enzymatic debridement agent for burn wound management: A multi-center RCT". Burns 40 (3): 466–74. doi:10.1016/j.burns.2013.08.013. PMID 24074719.
  5. 1 2 3 "Summary of Product Characteristics: NexoBrid" (PDF). European Medicines Agency.
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