News

Next month’s annual conference of the National Organization for Rare Disorders (NORD) in Washington, D.C., couldn’t come at a better time, says Marshall Summar, MD, chairman of NORD’s board of directors. “The pace of discovery in rare diseases has gone from brisk to hypersonic,” Summar told Bionews Services, publisher…

Health insurance is largely effective for Chinese patients with rare diseases such as hemophilia when it comes to being able to utilize healthcare services and buy medication. However, affordable and accessible treatment is still lacking and there is still a need for improvement in diagnostics and treatment of these rare…

Using Hemlibra (emicizumab) as prophylaxis lowers treatment costs considerably for people with hemophilia A compared to preventative factor (FVIII) treatment, according to an economic model study. The model predicts $47,814 in savings to U.S. payers in year one, and a potential for more $3 billion in savings over 20 years…

Many hemophilia patients experience undiagnosed symptoms of depression and anxiety that can impact their ability to cope with the disease and to adhere to treatment, a U.S. survey says. These findings shed light on psychological factors that affect the course of the disease, but with dedicated management and follow-up, depression…

Problematic thrombotic events are fairly rare in people using NovoSeven, among all types of bleeding disorders for which it is approved, including hemophilia, a review study shows. The study, “Thrombotic events with recombinant activated factor VII (rFVIIa) in approved indications are rare and associated with older age,…

Simultaneous use of NovoSeven (recombinant factor VIIa, rFVIIa) and Hemlibra (emicizumab) in patients with hemophilia A is not associated with higher risk of thrombosis, new analysis of the Phase 3 HAVEN program shows. The trials’ findings were reported in the study, “Safety analysis of…

Hemlibra (emicizumab) is safe and effective to treat children younger than 12 who have hemophilia type A and are negative for antibodies against synthetic factor VIII, results from a Japanese clinical study show. The trial findings were reported in the study, “A multicentre, open‐label study of emicizumab given…

Data from the first two patients treated with FLT180a, Freeline’s single-infusion gene therapy for patients with hemophilia B, showed a rise in levels of clotting factor IX to 40%, with levels remaining stable for over a year. Pratima Chowdary, principal investigator for the FLT180a program, presented the data…

Scientists report that hemophilia is three times more prevalent in men worldwide than previously thought and still associated with a poorer life expectancy, especially in low-income countries. Findings of the study, “Establishing the Prevalence and Prevalence at Birth of Hemophilia in Males: A Meta-analytic Approach Using National Registries,”…

Combining immune tolerance induction, used to prevent the development of anti-factor VIII inhibitors, with Hemlibra (emicizumab) is a feasible and safe way of treating children with severe hemophilia A, a study shows. Published in the journal Haemophilia, the report covers clinical outcomes in the first seven patients to be…