Those who suffer from Sickle Cell Disease could be getting a reprieve from some symptoms soon. The Food and Drug Administration approved crizanlizumab-tmca on Friday, November 15th. Around 100,000 people suffer from the disease, according to The Center for Disease Control.
Furthermore, Sickle Cell Disease causes many painful symptoms. Some of them include leg ulcers, vision loss, and anemia. Crizanlizumab-tmca, otherwise known as Adakveo, seeks to reprieve some of these symptoms through injections.
Adakveo will block P-Selectin, a protein that helps sickle-shaped blood cells stick to vessel walls, according to Forbes. Before Adakveo, there was never any drug to help with the disease. The only treatment options were “pain medications, hydration, oxygen, and potentially blood transfusions,” according to Forbes.
And fortunately, the new drug seems to be working. A clinical trial was conducted with 198 patients. They received three injections a day, and 36% reported had no pain spells in the year they took the drug, according to Modern Healthcare News.
The drug will cost between $85,000 to $113,000 to administrate. If a patient has insurance, that cost would go down. Although it is an expensive drug to administrate, it could actually save patients money. Pain caused by the disease sends an average of 200,ooo patients to emergency rooms every year.
Currently, the only viable cure for it is either a bone marrow or stem cell transplant, according to the CDC. Also, Adakveo could potentially eliminate the need for the risky and sometimes fatal procedure.
To learn more about the new drug, click here:
https://www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/sicklecell/facts.html
https://www.modernhealthcare.com/law-regulation/us-approves-new-drug-manage-sickle-cell-disease
