News

FT-4202 — an investigational treatment for sickle cell disease (SCD) — has a favorable safety profile and the expected biological effects, providing preliminary support of efficacy, according to data from an ongoing Phase 1 clinical trial. Forma Therapeutics, which is developing FT-4202, plans to start a global Phase…

While it will be entirely virtual this year, the 7th Annual Walk With the Stars & Move-A-Thon is taking place July 11 to raise awareness and money to fight sickle cell disease (SCD). Presented by the Sickle Cell Disease Association of America (SCDAA), the signature 5K national event is…

Global Blood Therapeutics (GBT) plans to submit a marketing authorization application to the European Medicines Agency (EMA) asking that Oxbryta (voxelotor) be approved for treating hemolytic anemia in people with sickle cell disease (SCD) who are 12 or older. The submission is anticipated by…

Mitapivat (AG-348) safely increased the amount of hemoglobin and changed the levels of biomarkers of red blood damage and energy production in adults with sickle cell disease (SCD), early Phase 1 trial data show. “These data build on our six years of clinical experience with this mechanism…

The first patient with severe sickle cell disease (SCD) who received a single infusion of CTX001, an experimental gene-editing cell therapy, remains free of vaso-occlusive crises (VOCs) nine months after treatment, a Phase 1/2 clinical trial shows. Findings from the trial, “(S280) Initial Safety…

The Alexion Charitable Foundation has awarded $1.1 million in grants to programs that support those with rare diseases during the COVID-19 pandemic, the organization recently announced. The grants will support activities that align with the foundation’s Rare Belonging focus, a set of funding priorities aimed at improving the…

Supporters are poised to mark World Sickle Cell Day, observed each June 19 to raise awareness about the red blood cell disorder, and to raise funds to fight it. Across the globe, supporters will participate in activities such as wearing red for sickle cell disease (SCD), sponsoring a…

Bluebird Bio’s investigational gene therapy LentiGlobin safely prevents serious vaso-occlusive crises and acute chest syndrome in adolescents and adults with severe sickle cell disease (SCD), according to recent data from a Phase 1/2 clinical trial. The findings, “Outcomes in patients treated with LentiGlobin…

Global Blood Therapeutics (GBT) will ask the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to allow children with sickle cell disease (SCD), ages 4 to 11, to also be treated with Oxbryta (voxelotor). The company announced plans to file an application requesting extended approval after a Type B meeting with FDA…

The Black Women’s Health Imperative (BWHI) recently created a Rare Disease Diversity Coalition focused on reducing racial disparities in the rare disease community. Getting a timely and accurate diagnosis for a disease that few people — sometimes even physicians — have heard of is challenging on its own merit.