Inofer®

According to WHO: “Iron deficiency is the most common and widespread nutritional disorder in the world”. It is the only food shortage that is also widespread in industrialized countries. The amount of people affected are staggering: 2 billion cases (over 30% of the world’s population) are anemic, many due to iron deficiency. Iron deficiency therefore affects more people than any other condition, which reaches epidemic proportions.

Iron deficiency is shown through general illness, premature death of children, is responsible for 20% of deaths in pregnant women and causes a generally impaired work capacity (link). Iron supplements can therefore increase quality of life and sometimes even be life-saving. Today there is a shortage of non-prescription iron supplements suitable for people with reduced iron uptake. These patients usually receive intravenous injections, which result in both greater invasiveness and greater cost to both the patient and the community.

Drugsson AB has a distribution agreement for a product under development in Sweden for the Scandinavian market. Originally owned by Laboratoire XO, the product is an iron supplement consisting of ferrous succinate, a chemical form of iron, known to be more readily absorbed into the body of people with impaired iron uptake.

In the fall of 2018, a clinical trial  was started in Sweden to prove a broad range of the product’s indication. The study was conducted at Skellefteå Lasarett and was led by senior physician Kurt Boman, senior professor at Umeå University. The results tested the hypothesis as to whether the product increases iron levels in heart failure patients.

The results showed a significant increase in iron levels already after 6 weeks, which is normally half the treatment period for regular iron supplements.