Photo: Novartis
Sickle cell disease is one of the most common inherited blood disorders, affecting about 100,000 Americans, most of them black, and about 300 million people worldwide.
Just last month, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved Novartis’ new treatment, Adakveo (crizanlizumab), to decrease the frequency of pain crises, or vaso-occlusive crises (VOCs), in adults and children age 16 years and older with sickle cell disease.
This approval, two months ahead of its scheduled decision date, has granted Novartis space to boast its impressive analysis for patient hospitalization frequency. Adakveo was able to win over the FDA’s approval with data generated in a study that shows the drug could reduce the number of VOC hospitalizations by 40%.
VOCs or pain crises are the periodic episodes during which red blood cells stick together, blocking blood from reaching organs and small blood vessels. This causes intense pain and cumulative organ damage that shortens the lives of
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