A newer, less expensive drug used to suppress the immune system and prevent organ rejection in kidney and pancreas transplant patients works just as well as its much more expensive counterpart. The new drug, alemtuzumab, is marketed under the name CampathTM. The more commonly used ThymoglobulinTM costs about four times as much.  Both drugs destroy the cells that cause organ rejection. The two year study done at Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center found both drugs are equally effective and safe. The results appear in the journal Transplantation.  

This article originally appeared in the November 2009 issue of Kidney Transplant Today.