The American Institutes for Research (AIR) has been awarded a $28 million federal contract to help make cell and gene therapy (CGT) treatments more accessible to Medicaid recipients, initially focusing on sickle cell disease (SCD). The contract, from the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation in the Centers for…

Bluebird Bio has struck a deal with Medicaid in the state of Michigan to allow eligible people with sickle cell disease access to the now-approved gene therapy Lyfgenia (lovotibeglogene autotemcel). The new deal will provide Lyfgenia through an outcomes-based agreement — a financial structure in…

Starting in 2025, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) will introduce a pricing model that aims to make new cell and gene therapies more accessible for people with sickle cell disease who are on Medicaid, the health program for lower income residents jointly funded by the…

A month after its U.S. approval, Lyfgenia (lovotibeglogene autotemcel), Bluebird Bio’s gene therapy for sickle cell disease (SCD), is readying to treat patients there. According to the company, 35 out of 48 qualified treatment centers across the U.S. started accepting patient referrals as of Jan. 5. Treatment…

Endari, an oral therapy approved to treat sickle cell disease (SCD) has been added to the Florida Medicaid Preferred Drug List (PDL), its manufacturer Emmaus Life Sciences announced. The PDL, according to the Florida Agency for Health Care Administration (AHCA), is a listing of medications that are considered…

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…

Despite an increased risk of invasive pneumococcal disease (IPD) in children with sickle cell anemia (SCA), preventive treatment (prophylaxis) rates remain low among these patients, a study shows. The research, “Antibiotic Prophylaxis for Children With Sickle Cell Anemia,” was published in Pediatrics, the official journal of the…

Emmaus Life Sciences has reached an agreement with the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services that will allow coverage of Endari (L-glutamine oral powder) to reduce acute complications of sickle cell disease (SCD) in adults and children 5 years and older. “This treatment is considered very important by many…