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Gene therapy delivering the blood clotting factor VIII (FVIII) — whose lack causes hemophilia A — into the joints did better at protecting against hemophilic arthropathy (joint damage) than did administration into the bloodstream, a study in mice suggests. Its findings support the potential use of FVIII injected directly into…

Endothelial cells — those that line the inside of blood vessels — derived from stem cells of people with hemophilia A and modified to produce functional factor VIII were able to ease blood loss in a mouse model of the disease, a study reported. These findings support the potential of induced…

Even with the coronavirus pandemic ravaging Europe and much of the world, patient advocate Lucia Monaco, PhD, of Italy remains confident that the Paris-based nonprofit she chairs will see the approval of 1,000 new rare disease therapies by 2027. That group, the International Rare Diseases Research Consortium (IRDiRC) — launched…

Some $80.3 million in financing will support the first clinical trial of Sigilon Therapeutics’ new hemophilia A cell therapy candidate, SIG-001, the company said. The trial is expected to begin by June. Last August, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) granted the potential cell therapy…

Novo Nordisk has paused three clinical trials evaluating concizumab, its experimental treatment candidate for hemophilia A and B, due to safety concerns. The three Explorer studies — the Phase 2 Explorer 5 (NCT03196297), and the global Phase 3 Explorer 7 (NCT04083781) and Explorer 8 (NCT04082429)…

Cells derived from hemophilia A patients — genetically reprogrammed to produce a functional clotting factor VIII (FVIII) that’s missing or not working in people with the blood disease — were successfully grafted into hemophiliac mice, restoring blood levels of FVIII and significantly improving…

Preventive treatment with Kovaltry (octocog alfa) is safe and effective at preventing bleeds, including joint bleeds, for up to two years in people with hemophilia A, a long-term extension study shows. Findings were reported in the study “BAY 81-8973 demonstrated efficacy, safety and joint status improvement…

Struggles with “mood and emotions” and feelings of social isolation or inadequate social support are more pronounced in young children with hemophilia and their parents than in age-matched healthy peers,  a study from Japan reports. But such “anxieties,” which affect quality of life, were less a concern in survey…

The number of treatments for children with rare diseases has grown over the past decade, according to a new study. However, despite the increase, nearly 7,000 rare diseases are still lacking treatment. And federal incentives to boost treatment development for these rare diseases have primarily focused not on creating new…

ClotChip, a portable device designed to quickly assess the ability of a person’s blood to clot, has been designated a breakthrough device by the U. S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), its maker XaTek announced. This designation offers the company additional FDA guidance and the possibility of priority…