FRIDAY, Feb. 11 (HealthDay News) -- A new test to monitor blood
levels of a drug used to prevent rejection in kidney transplant
patients has been approved by the U.S. Food and Drug
Administration.
The Novartis drug Zortress (everolimus) was approved in 2010 to
help suppress the immune system and prevent rejection of a
transplanted kidney. But if too much of this type of drug -- called
an immunosuppressant -- builds up in a patient's blood, it could be
toxic, the FDA said in a news release.
The just-approved QMS Everolimus Immunoassay helps doctors
monitor blood levels of Zortress, which like other
immunosuppressants must be taken by transplant patients for the
rest of their lives.
QMS Everolimus is manufactured by Thermofisher, based in
Waltham, Mass.
More information
To learn more about this approval, visit the
FDA.