Press Announcements > FDA approves new treatment for sickle cell disease

Press Announcements > FDA approves new treatment for sickle cell disease

FDA Approves New Treatment for Sickle Cell Disease 

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved Endari (L-glutamine oral powder), for patients age five years and older with sickle cell disease to reduce severe complications associated with the blood disorder.

"Endari is the first treatment approved for patients with sickle cell disease in almost 20 years," said Richard Pazdur, M.D., acting director of the Office of Hematology and Oncology Products in the FDA’s Center for Drug Evaluation and Research and director of the FDA’s Oncology Center of Excellence. "Until now, only one other drug was approved for patients living with this serious, debilitating condition."

Sickle cell disease is an inherited blood disorder in which the red blood cells are abnormally shaped (in a crescent, or "sickle," shape). This restricts the flow in blood vessels and limits oxygen delivery to the body’s tissues, leading to severe pain and organ damage. According to the National Institutes of Health, approximately 100,000 people in the United States have sickle cell disease. The disease occurs most often in African-Americans, Latinos and other minority groups. The average life expectancy for patients with sickle cell disease in the United States is approximately 40 to 60 years. Read more...