Express Scripts has teamed up with PinnacleCare to include in its new Rare Conditions Care Value (RCCV) program a service that provides patients with rare diseases like hemophilia a second opinion from a specialist care provider. The initiative, simply called Second Opinion, is designed to give patients an additional…

SPK-8011 may be a safe treatment strategy for patients with severe or moderately severe hemophilia A, achieving an overall 97% reduction in annual bleeds, according to preliminary data from an ongoing Phase 1/2 trial. The trial (NCT03003533) is intended to explore the safety and efficacy of a single intravenous…

Becoming a parent changes everything in life. This was certainly true for my husband, Jared, who’d always dreamed of being a father, despite having severe hemophilia B and frequent seizures. When our daughter, Cittie, was born, that dream came to life, giving him more purpose and even improving…

Novo Nordisk has entered into a collaboration agreement with Bluebird Bio to develop new therapies based on gene editing for a series of genetic disorders, including hemophilia. The companies have agreed to work together on a three-year research project that will focus on the identification and…

When my boys were little, I dreamed about what their chosen activities might be — band, swimming, theater, or maybe soccer. I wanted to be a soccer mom, cheering on my sons from the sidelines and bringing orange slices for the team. My oldest son, Julian, did play soccer…

Researchers at several Canadian institutions investigated the tendencies of health-related quality of life (HRQoL) among teenagers and young adults with hemophilia A (HA) and found that young adults demonstrated more joint disease and worse HRQoL when physical function and pain were considered. The research paper, “Generic and disease-specific quality of…

I’m grieving for my youngest son, Caeleb, a high school senior. Caeleb’s academic pursuits haven’t been successful, according to the world. Society revels in straight A’s, being in the top 10% of a graduating class, and receiving full-ride scholarships to college. If a student isn’t meeting these expectations and doesn’t…

My husband, Jared, lives with hemophilia B and a seizure disorder. He also lifts weights, performs bodyweight workouts, and swims. Now and then, someone will see him doing laps in the pool and ask, “Are you a professional?” To which he responds, “No, the water just loves me more.

Researchers, working with mice, have developed a new way of producing substantial numbers of gene-corrected liver cells with the possibility of repopulation in vivo. The strategy, which relies on the liver’s unusual regenerative skills, may hold promise for the treatment of diseases such as hemophilia B. The study by scientists at Oregon Health & Science University,…