Some years ago, when my youngest son, “MacDonald the Younger,” was about 7, he had an internal bleed into his right knee just before Thanksgiving. I was scheduled to lead a “Thanks Living” service that Tuesday, but we quickly realized we would be celebrating the holiday in a hospital…

Julian was only a baby when he received his hemophilia diagnosis, and it came as a big shock to me. I remember how much I enjoyed the newness of having a beautiful son who looked perfect. Then, the first bruise appeared. Julian has severe hemophilia A, also known as…

In an unexpected turn, Catalyst Biosciences is discontinuing the clinical development of marzeptacog alfa activated (MarzAA), its experimental under-the-skin therapy for hemophilia A and B patients with inhibitors, which was being evaluated in an international Phase 3 clinical trial. “Based on several factors including a recently updated feasibility assessment,…

When given monthly to people with hemophilia A or B with inhibitors, fitusiran significantly reduced bleeding, and for some, fully eliminated them, according to data from the Phase 3 ATLAS-INH study.

Welcome to “Hemophilia and Me.” Former Hemophilia News Today columnist Shellye Horowitz, who wrote “The Forgotten Factor,” inspired me to dust off my journalism degree and share my own story, and now I’m grateful and honored to join a team of inspirational rock star writers. I plan…

Chugai Pharmaceutical is asking regulatory authorities in Japan to extend the use of Hemlibra (emicizumab) in preventing or reducing the frequency of bleeding episodes to people with acquired hemophilia A. Hemophilia A is caused by genetic mutations that make the body unable to produce a fully functional…

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has placed a clinical hold on the Phase 3 trial evaluating SB-525 (giroctocogene fitelparvovec), an investigational gene therapy for hemophilia A. This pause in study recruitment and dosing was taken to give the agency time to review changes to the AFFINE…

Last Sunday, I preached about a blind man named Bartimaeus. The people told the blind beggar to arise and go to Jesus, who wished to see him. It dawned on me that the people surrounding the man functioned as his advocates. Upon hearing the words of Jesus, the crowd…

Preventive treatment with factor VIII (FVIII) — the missing blood clotting protein in hemophilia A — was not fully effective at preventing MRI-detected joint changes in boys with severe disease, according to a Canadian study. Regular evaluation of joints by MRI or ultrasounds, however, may help in identifying those…