Combining two gene editing approaches in cells derived from a patient with severe hemophilia A successfully restored the levels and activity of the faulty clotting factor VIII (FVIII) and reduced bleedings in a mouse model of the disease, according to a new study. The research, “ssODN-Mediated…

Since every hemophilia A patient responds differently to therapies, researchers are working to develop personalized preventive (prophylaxis) strategies with Nuwiq (antihemophilic factor [recombinant].) Octapharma, the treatment’s manufacturer, presented data showing that an individual’s pharmacokinetic (PK) profile (how the therapy works once inside the body) can be used to possibly…

Takeda Pharmaceuticals has decided to discontinue Hemofil M (human antihemophilic factor) and Recombinate (recombinant antihemophilic factor), both of which are approved as replacement therapies to prevent and control bleeding episodes in children and adults with hemophilia A. “This was not a decision we made lightly,” Anthea Cherednichenko,…

For adults and adolescents with hemophilia A without inhibitors, Altuviiio (efanesoctocog alfa) may work better than other standard or extended half-life factor replacement therapies at preventing bleeding episodes, while requiring less frequent injections, a study found. Researchers made an indirect comparison of data from XTEND-1 (NCT04161495) and published…

Takeda has presented early data on the prevalence of — and a possible solution for — one of gene therapy’s main hurdles: the development of an immune reaction against the viral-based delivery vectors used in such therapies. The findings, presented at the 61st American Society of Hematology (ASH) Annual Meeting…

The Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) for the U.K. has approved the resumption of patient enrollment in BioMarin Pharmaceuticals’ Phase 1/2 clinical trial evaluating the investigational gene therapy BMN 270 as a treatment for severe hemophilia A. BioMarin suspended patient dosing in the trial in June because of increasing levels…

The first patient in a Phase 1/2 clinical trial (“the Alta trial”) designed to assess safety and tolerability of SB-525 gene therapy has received treatment. Sangamo Therapeutics, in a collaboration with Pfizer, is developing  the SB-525 gene therapy to correct the Factor VIII (FVIII) defect in hemophilia A…

Scientists in Taiwan have created a new point-of-care device to diagnose hemophilia type A and determine a person’s blood type using just a small sample of blood. The device “is especially suitable for usage in emergency or natural disasters to provide quantitative testing in rescue and relief operations,” the…

People with severe hemophilia B are likely to develop hemophilic arthropathy — a painful and degenerative joint disease caused by recurrent bleedings — despite the lower bleeding frequency relative to hemophilia A, a natural history study shows. The data also highlights that prophylactic (preventive) treatment guidelines are not being…