Marta Figueiredo, PhD, managing science editor —

Marta holds a biology degree, a master’s in evolutionary and developmental biology, and a PhD in biomedical sciences from the University of Lisbon, Portugal. She was awarded a research scholarship and a PhD scholarship, and her research focused on the role of several signaling pathways in thymus and parathyroid glands embryonic development. She also previously worked as an assistant professor of an annual one-week embryology course at the University of Lisbon’s Faculty of Medicine.

Articles by Marta Figueiredo

Potential Gene Therapy GENV-HEM Earns Orphan Drug Status

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has granted orphan drug designation to GENV-HEM, GeneVentiv Therapeutics’ investigational gene therapy for hemophilia A and B patients, with or without clotting factor inhibitors. Orphan drug designation is given to treatment candidates that have the potential to be safe and effective…

Research Explores Umbilical Stem Cells as Treatment

Using a baby’s own umbilical cells as vehicles to deliver factor VIII (FVIII) — the missing or defective clotting protein in hemophilia A — may be an effective, long-lasting, and more affordable therapeutic approach for this blood disorder, an early study suggests. The findings “lay the groundwork for future…

New Guidelines Issued to Self-administer Hemlibra

The National Hemophilia Foundation (NHF), through its Nursing Working Group (NWG), has released new guidelines to help hemophilia A patients self-administer Hemlibra (emicizumab). In its announcement, the foundation also highlighted the issuance of new guidelines for nurses to ensure safe and effective administration of standard into-the-vein…

Gene Therapy SPK-8011 Prevents Bleeds Up to 4 Years

A single dose of Spark Therapeutics’ investigational gene therapy SPK-8011 safely and effectively prevented bleeding episodes and the use of clotting factor VIII (FVIII) for up to four years in men with hemophilia A, according to the latest data from a Phase 1/2 trial and its extension study.

BioMarin Resubmits Roctavian Gene Therapy for EU Approval

BioMarin Pharmaceutical has resubmitted a regulatory application seeking approval in Europe for its experimental gene therapy Roctavian (valoctocogene roxaparvovec) for severe hemophilia A. That resubmission, to the European Medicines Agency (EMA), included one-year follow-up data from BioMarin on the therapy’s safety and effectiveness in treating the rare genetic…