Health Canada has approved Esperoct, an engineered formulation of clotting factor VIII, for the treatment of hemophilia A in people of all ages. The approval covers prophylactic, or preventive treatment, on-demand use for controlling bleeding episodes, and use in reducing bleeding during surgery. Esperoct received similar approval…

Two new mutations affecting the production of functional clotting factor VIII were identified in a group of Vietnamese patients with hemophilia A, researchers report. Their findings were described in a letter to the editor, “Mutation characteristic of 103 haemophilia A patients in Vietnam: Identification of novel mutations,”…

A single dose of BIVV001 is safe and effectively increases factor VIII (FVIII) activity over one month in men with severe hemophilia A, lasting longer in the body than the replacement therapy Advate, results from the EXTEN-A clinical trial suggest. Gains in half-life seen with BIVV001 “could signal…

My Life, Our Future (MLOF), a national program founded by leaders in the hemophilia and blood disorder community, marked Feb. 28 — Rare Disease Day — by launching the world’s largest research repository of its kind to researchers and scholars. The program is opening to U.S. scientists and will expand to worldwide scientists in 2018.

The European Commission has approved Hemlibra (emicizumab) for routine preventive treatment of bleeding episodes in people who have hemophilia A with factor VIII inhibitors. The antibody therapy is designed to restore the factor VIII, which is deficient in hemophilia A. Hemlibra is being co-developed by Japan’s Chugai Pharmaceuticals, Switzerland’s…

The European Medicines Agency (EMA) Pharmacovigilance Risk Assessment Committee (PRAC) has initiated a review of factor VIII-containing medicines, to evaluate the risk of inhibitor protein development in patients starting treatment for hemophilia A, according to a press release. This review, which will cover all medicines containing factor VIII authorized in the…

Scientists found the immune signaling protein BAFF can promote the formation of neutralizing antibodies, or inhibitors, against blood clotting factor VIII (FVIII), which can lower the effectiveness of FVIII replacement therapies used to treat people with hemophilia A.  They also discovered that hemophilia A…

The hemophilia A treatment Nuwiq (simoctocog alfa) is safe and effective for patients with severe disease, both when used on demand or as a preventative treatment, researchers determined in a recent report. The researchers, who analyzed available data on Nuwuq, detailed their finding in the article, “Efficacy and…

In boys and men with severe hemophilia A, starting prophylaxis — preventive treatment given regularly to reduce bleeding — early and maintaining regular physical activity were each linked to a lower risk of hemophilic arthropathy, a progressive form of joint damage caused by repeated bleeding, according to a real-world…