News

SCDAA, 8 pharma companies team up to increase trial participation

The Sickle Cell Disease Association of America (SCDAA) is collaborating with several pharmaceutical companies in a new initiative aimed at increasing awareness of the blood disorder and promoting clinical trial participation. Along with the SCDAA, the Sickle Cell Disease Collaboration of Advocates for Research, Education, and Science — officially…

Suburban Propane hopes to boost SCD awareness with blood drive

Suburban Propane Partners recently teamed up with the American Red Cross, its longtime national collaborator, to host a blood drive in Boston to boost sickle cell disease (SCD) awareness and encourage blood donations. The event was attended by Willie Gross, Boston’s former, and first, African American police commissioner. Some…

Vertex to develop conditioning agent for SCD gene-editing therapy

Vertex Pharmaceuticals will use ImmunoGen technology to develop less aggressive conditioning approaches for exagamglogene autotemcel (exa-cel), its experimental gene-editing therapy for sickle cell disease (SCD) and transfusion-dependent beta thalassemia. Vertex will pay ImmunoGen $15 million up front to use its antibody-drug conjugate (ADC) technology to develop…

Briquilimab improves success of stem cell transplant in 3 patients

Jasper Therapeutics’ investigational conditioning therapy briquilimab safely improved the success of stem cell transplants for three people with sickle cell disease (SCD), early Phase 1/2 trial data suggest. Stem cell transplant success was observed in all three patients treated with briquilimab, plus a less-aggressive non-myeloablative conditioning regimen,…