The European Commission has granted conditional marketing authorization to BioMarin’s one-time gene therapy Roctavian (valoctocogene roxaparvovec) as a treatment for adults with severe hemophilia A who have neither inhibitors nor detectable antibodies against adeno-associated virus serotype 5 (AAV5). The decision, which comes a couple of months after a…
News
Adults with hemophilia and ankle joint damage taking part in a yearlong pilot study largely reported that two injections of hyaluronic acid, which acts to lubricate the joint, eased ankle pain and improved movement. The treatment, given six months apart in this U.K. trial, also enabled most of these people…
Treatment with Hemlibra (emicizumab) improved joint health in people with hemophilia A participating in the Phase 3 HAVEN 3 trial, with the most pronounced improvements seen in those younger than 40 or in patients who had joints with frequent bleeds. Findings were detailed in the study “…
Older men with hemophilia report higher rates of anxiety, depression, and diabetes compared with the general U.S. population, a recent study reported. However, rates of heart-related health problems, such as myocardial infarction (heart attack) and coronary heart disease, were lower in hemophilia patients than in the general population. The…
Switching to Hemlibra (emicizumab) can add more than $100,000 a year to healthcare costs for people with hemophilia A in the U.S. who were previously using preventive replacement therapies, according to a new analysis. “Increased use of [Hemlibra] may cause an increase in economic burden for payers without…
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved Novo Nordisk’s Rebinyn (nonacog beta pegol) as a routine preventive treatment for bleeding episodes in adults and children with hemophilia B. Rebinyn, sold under the brand name Refixia in the EU, is a replacement therapy that had originally…
The extended half-life replacement therapies Eloctate and Alprolix can be used to effectively manage bleeding during surgery in people with hemophilia, according to a new study based on Phase 3 clinical trial data. These findings highlight the “efficacy and safety of these products in a broad age range of…
Immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) used for cancer treatment may be associated with an increased likelihood of developing acquired hemophilia A, according to an analysis of an adverse events database. Although the small number of reports do not confirm that these therapies are causing the bleeding disorder, early identification and…
Diabetes and infection with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) increase the risk of high blood pressure (hypertension) among men with hemophilia, a U.S. study found. Given that both hypertension and diabetes can lead to a brain bleed in hemophilia patients, these findings support early screening for these conditions in this…
Hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection remains a major risk factor for hepatocellular carcinoma — the most common type of liver cancer — in men with hemophilia, despite the wide availability of medications to fight the virus, a U.S. database analysis has found. Other independent risk factors for the cancer…
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