News

Even while hospitalized with one of the acute pain crises that sickle cell disease (SCD) patients frequently experience, it was common for Rena Grant to continue plugging away at her job as director of legislation for a South Carolina House of Representatives committee. Her courage and dedication — and the…

Blood vessel narrowing due to external or internal stimuli, and the resulting reduced blood flow, may be the main drivers of the painful vaso-occlusive crises experienced by people with sickle cell disease (SCD). Inducing stimuli for such blood vessel narrowing include mental stress, pain, and extreme temperatures, either low…

Sangamo Therapeutics is assuming all rights to SAR445136, an investigational gene-edited cell therapy co-developed with Sanofi and now in a Phase 1/2 trial in adults with severe sickle cell disease (SCD). Early trial data support the therapy’s safety and tolerability, and its effectiveness at raising levels of fetal hemoglobin in patients,…

A new formulation of Oxbryta (voxelotor) that is suitable for treating children as young as 4 is now available in the U.S. at specialty pharmacies. Late last year, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) expanded the approval of Oxbryta to treat children with sickle cell disease (SCD)…

Researchers at the University of York in the U.K. have been awarded a $3.1 million (£2.3 million) grant to accelerate research supporting stem cell gene therapy to treat sickle cell disease (SCD). The grant was awarded by the nonprofit Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to track genetic changes in…

Agios Pharmaceuticals has launched a Phase 2/3 trial called RISE UP to test its investigational therapy mitapivat (AG-348) in people with sickle cell disease (SCD). The trial (NCT05031780), which is not yet recruiting, aims to enroll about 237 people with SCD, ages 16 and older. To be…

The National Organization for Rare Disorders (NORD) asks Americans to plan ahead to participate in the Light Up for Rare campaign to raise awareness of rare diseases. NORD is the U.S. sponsor for Rare Disease Day on Feb. 28. The annual awareness day spotlights approximately 7,000…

Regina Hartfield is set to become the president and CEO of the Sickle Cell Disease Association of America (SCDAA) on Jan. 14. She brings with her experience ranging from project manager at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center and community relations coordinator at The New York Botanical Garden to, most recently,…

A clinical program for lovotibeglogene autotemcel (lovo-cel), an investigational gene therapy for sickle cell disease (SCD), has been suspended for patients under 18 by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Bluebird Bio announced the partial suspension of its program due to an ongoing investigation into persistent, nontransfusion-dependent…

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has agreed to expand the use of Oxbryta (voxelotor) — the first approved therapy targeting the underlying cause of sickle cell disease (SCD) — to children as young as 4. The therapy previously was approved for SCD patients ages 12 and older.