News

Quality of Life Benefits Seen With Long-term Hemlibra Use in Trials

Preventive treatment with Hemlibra (emicizumab) sustainably improved physical health-related quality of life and led to fewer missed workdays among people with severe hemophilia A without inhibitors, an analysis of pooled data from two clinical trials found. According to researchers, these findings add to previous data showing that Hemlibra…

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…

Elective Surgery Safe in Australia for Hemophilia, Bleeding Disorders

Complication rates for elective surgeries in people with inherited bleeding disorders like hemophilia are low in Australia, reflecting good safety in their performance despite guidelines not always being followed, a study reported. Use of a specialty hemophilia treatment center (HTC) for surgery, and use of factor replacement therapy were among guidelines sometimes…

EveryLife Introduces First of Kind ‘Roadmap’ to ICD Codes

To help patient advocacy leaders and their partners better understand how global health statistics codes — known as ICD codes — are assigned, updated, and revised in the U.S. health information system, the EveryLife Foundation for Rare Diseases is presenting a first-of-its-kind resource guide. The foundation created the…

Poorer Joint Health, Greater Pain Evident After COVID Lockdown

Joint pain significantly rose and overall joint health — particularly range of motion — diminished with limitations on physical activities during the COVID-19 lockdown for people with hemophilia and joint disease, a small study from Spain reported. The study “Musculoskeletal Changes in Hemophilia Patients Subsequent to COVID−19…

Study Examines Inhibitor Risk in Non-severe Hemophilia A

Intensive treatment with factor VIII, the clotting protein missing or defective in patients with hemophilia A, is associated with a greater risk of inhibitor development among patients with non-severe disease, a study has found. The findings highlight the importance of closely monitoring these patients in order to prevent or…