---
title: "Icatibant"
canonical_url: https://peptidelibrary.app/library/icatibant
description: "Selective bradykinin B2 receptor antagonist approved for acute attacks of hereditary angioedema in adults and adolescents. It can be self-administered."
updated: 2026-11-07
publisher: Peptide Library
notice: "Research and educational use only. Not medical advice."
---

# Icatibant

Icatibant is an FDA-approved bradykinin B2 receptor antagonist. Attacks of hereditary angioedema are driven by excess bradykinin acting at the B2 receptor on vascular endothelium, which increases permeability and causes plasma extravasation into subcutaneous and submucosal tissue. Icatibant is a synthetic decapeptide containing five non-proteinogenic amino acids that competitively blocks the B2 receptor, halting that signal.

Selective bradykinin B2 receptor antagonist approved for acute attacks of hereditary angioedema in adults and adolescents. It can be self-administered.

## Classification

- Type: FDA-approved bradykinin B2 receptor antagonist
- Mechanism class: Bradykinin Receptor Antagonist
- Development stage: Approved product
- Regulatory class: FDA-approved medicine

## Mechanism

Attacks of hereditary angioedema are driven by excess bradykinin acting at the B2 receptor on vascular endothelium, which increases permeability and causes plasma extravasation into subcutaneous and submucosal tissue. Icatibant is a synthetic decapeptide containing five non-proteinogenic amino acids that competitively blocks the B2 receptor, halting that signal. The unnatural residues make it resistant to peptidase degradation.

## Properties

- Molecular formula: C59H89N19O13S
- Molecular weight: 1,304.5 g/mol
- CAS number: 130308-48-4
- Half-life: Mean elimination half-life of 1.4 ± 0.4 hours after subcutaneous injection (Firazyr label)
- Studied routes: Subcutaneous

## Evidence

- Evidence level: FDA Approved
- Highest documented: Regulatory review (FDA label)
- Human trials: 0
- Controlled human trials: 0
- Preclinical sources: 0

Each step shows whether the sources Peptide Library has reviewed include that kind of research. Counts are reviewed sources, not every study ever published. Reviews and programme summaries that describe human use are shown as "reported", not as trials, and registered trials without published results are listed but not counted. A higher step means research has progressed further; it does not mean a compound works better or is safer. Compounds whose evidence has not been reviewed yet show "Not reviewed" instead of a guess.

### Studies

1. FIRAZYR (icatibant) injection — FDA prescribing information, DailyMed. Regulatory label (FDA), human. Population: Adults aged 18 and older with hereditary angioedema. Treatment of acute attacks of hereditary angioedema; studied in three controlled trials with 223 patients [Source](https://dailymed.nlm.nih.gov/dailymed/drugInfo.cfm?setid=ed6657ca-ab68-477a-9968-e12dc928b540)
2. Icatibant Injection (Teva) — FDA prescribing information, DailyMed. Regulatory label (FDA), human. Population: Adults aged 18 and older with hereditary angioedema. Treatment of acute attacks of hereditary angioedema [Source](https://dailymed.nlm.nih.gov/dailymed/drugInfo.cfm?setid=402a20e0-d1e2-4a24-ae1d-f2ff6d8fa7b3)

## Safety

Human safety basis: FDA prescribing information

## Regulatory status

Icatibant is an FDA-approved product for specific labelled indications. Approval does not extend to the research contexts described on this page, and approved products are prescription medicines.

- FDA status: Approved
- Availability: Prescription-Only

## Frequently asked questions

### What is Icatibant?

Selective bradykinin B2 receptor antagonist approved for acute attacks of hereditary angioedema in adults and adolescents. It can be self-administered.

### How does Icatibant work?

Attacks of hereditary angioedema are driven by excess bradykinin acting at the B2 receptor on vascular endothelium, which increases permeability and causes plasma extravasation into subcutaneous and submucosal tissue. Icatibant is a synthetic decapeptide containing five non-proteinogenic amino acids that competitively blocks the B2 receptor, halting that signal.

### Is Icatibant FDA approved?

Yes. Icatibant is approved by the FDA, and approved products are prescription medicines. Approval is always for specific indications studied in clinical trials, so an approved status does not mean the compound is approved for every use it is discussed for. Research-chemical material sold under the same name is not the approved product.

### What peptides are similar to Icatibant?

Compounds most often compared with Icatibant include Angiotensin II, Cetrorelix, Corticorelin and Cosyntropin. They are grouped by shared mechanism or research area rather than by equivalence, and their regulatory status and evidence base differ.

## References

- [Efficacy of Treatment of Non-hereditary Angioedema — Clin Rev Allergy Immunol, 2018](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/27672078/)
- [Icatibant for hereditary angioedema — Drugs Today (Barc), 2009](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/20135020/)
- [Therapeutic potential of icatibant (HOE-140, JE-049) — Expert Opin Pharmacother, 2008](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/18710362/)
- [Icatibant, 2006](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/36940272/)
- [First reported case of Andes hantavirus cardiopulmonary syndrome treated with a combination of favipiravir, ribavirin, icatibant and baricitinib — Clin Microbiol Infect, 2026](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/42219034/)