FDA Approves Therapy to Treat Patients with Painful Complication of Sickle Cell Disease

https://www.fda.gov/news-events/press-announcements/fda-approves-first-targeted-therapy-treat-patients-painful-complication-sickle-cell-disease?utm_campaign=SCD%20therapy%20approval&utm_medium=email&utm_source=Eloqua&elqTrackId=AD1F873413792F74E3F4905C227255DD&elq=a615b0313f024ecc8b023ca547c820e9&elqaid=10305&elqat=1&elqCampaignId=8701

FDA Approves Therapy to Treat Patients with Painful Complication of Sickle Cell Disease

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved Adakveo (crizanlizumab-tmca), a treatment to reduce the frequency of vaso-occlusive crisis – a common and painful complication of sickle cell disease that occurs when blood circulation is obstructed by sickled red blood cells – for patients age 16 years and older.

Sickle cell disease is an inherited blood disorder in which the red blood cells are abnormally shaped (in a crescent or "sickle" shape), which restricts the flow in blood vessels and limits oxygen delivery to the body’s tissues, leading to severe pain and organ damage. It is also characterized by severe chronic inflammation that results in vaso-occlusive crisis where patients experience episodes of extreme pain and organ damage. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevetion, sickle cell disease affects approximately 100,000 Americans. The disease occurs most often in African-Americans, where 1 out of every 365 babies born have the disease.

 

Learn more about this approval in the FDA press release.