The EPIC study: a lesson to learn

Introduction: Inhibitory antibodies to factor VIII occur in about 30% of previously untreated patients (PUPs) and are the most serious complication of haemophilia A. It is unclear why some patients develop inhibitors and others do not.

Aims: The Early Prophylaxis Immunologic Challenge (EPIC) study was designed to test the hypothesis that inhibitor incidence in PUPs with severe or moderately severe haemophilia A could be reduced when a once-weekly FVIII prophylaxis starts with 25 IU kg(-1) rAHF-PFM before 1 year of age and immunological danger signals are minimized.

Methods: These signals were minimized by avoiding: surgery; the first FVIII infusion during severe bleeding or an infection; central venous access devices and administering vaccinations intramuscularly 3-4 days before or after FVIII.

Results: Eight of the 19 treated subjects (42.1%) developed confirmed inhibitors. Eleven of the 19 treated subjects were PUPs without any prior exposure to FVIII. Three of them (27.3%) developed a confirmed inhibitor together with FVIII-binding antibodies. The study was stopped because the likelihood to reach the primary objective was minimal, a decision endorsed by the data safety monitoring board.

Conclusion: Because of early termination, the EPIC study hypothesis could not be corroborated. Nonetheless, our data analyses indicate that the current definition of an inhibitor only based on plasma inhibitor activity ≥0.6 BU mL(-1) may not always reflect the presence of FVIII-neutralizing antibodies. The findings of this study teach us that low-level inhibitor activity results need in addition a confirmatory test and/or the assessment of the therapeutic response.