More than 600 people participated in the 10th annual Rare Disease Week on Capitol Hill 2021, held virtually July 14–22, to advocate for the rare disease community. Hosted by the EveryLife Foundation’s Rare Disease Legislative Advocates (RDLA) program, the event brings together community members from across the U.S. to…
Endari (L-glutamine), an approved oral treatment for sickle cell disease (SCD), has now been added to the Preferred Drug List in Texas. The move will make Endari more accessible to people in the state who are insured through Medicaid, the government program that provides health insurance to low-income…
Medical technology company Hemanext is partnering with the Silicon Valley-based nonprofit Sickle Cell 101 (SC101) to promote sickle cell disease education and awareness. The new partners will sponsor local, national, and global efforts to bring attention to the unmet needs of the more than 20 million people…
Children with sickle cell disease (SCD) as young as age 4 could be prescribed Oxbryta (voxelotor) if the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approves a supplemental new drug application (sNDA) submitted by the therapy’s developers. Global Blood Therapeutics (GBT) is asking the FDA to expand the use of…
The National Organization for Rare Disorders (NORD) is applauding the Biden administration for announcing a rule to protect consumers from surprise medical billing, in a joint statement with 26 other U.S. patient organizations. The interim final rule will implement patient protections required by the No Surprises Act. Surprise…
The University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) has been awarded $8.39 million to fund a Phase 1/2 clinical trial of CRISPR_SCD001, the first non-viral and CRISPR-Cas9-based gene editing therapy for sickle cell disease (SCD). Researchers will use the gene-editing technology to attempt to correct a genetic mutation in the blood…
AllianceRx Walgreens Prime, a specialty and home delivery pharmacy, is partnering with TailorMed, a healthcare technology company, to help lower out-of-pocket prescription costs for specialty pharmacy patients. Medications attained through specialty pharmacies are those used to treat rare and chronic conditions in the U.S., and are often extremely costly. For…
Emmaus Life Sciences has submitted an application seeking the approval of its oral medication Endari (L-glutamine) to treat sickle cell disease (SCD) in Kuwait. The company announced that the Kuwait Drug and Food Control administration, which is responsible for registering pharmaceutical products in the country, has accepted…
Nominations are now open for the worldwide 2022 Black Pearl Awards from Eurordis-Rare Diseases Europe. The 12 award categories recognize individual advocates, policy makers, researchers, organizations, and companies who work to make a difference for the global rare disease community. The deadline for nominations is Sept. 10…
As a stem cell transplant is the only curative treatment for sickle cell disease (SCD), a blood disorder that disproportionately affects Blacks and African Americans, “Cheek Week” is again calling for the participation and inclusion of donors from different ethnic backgrounds in the Be The Match registry,…
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