Press Release
GBT and Sickle Cell Disease Association of America to Host 10th Annual Sickle Cell Disease (SCD) Therapeutics Conference
“Progress in the treatment of sickle cell disease in recent years has provided hope and optimism for the future. But significant gaps in access to high quality care and other barriers continue to plague this community,” said
The event will also feature sessions on a variety of critical topics, including the impact of the novel COVID-19 vaccines and the experiences of the SCD community with these vaccines. The program will include panel discussions featuring leading physicians from around the world, patients, advocates, and policy makers, as well as updates from GBT’s 2021 Access to Excellent Care for Sickle Cell Patients (ACCEL) Grant recipients, who are focused on delivering high-quality healthcare to people living with SCD.
“In the past year, the COVID-19 pandemic has magnified the long-standing inequities faced by the sickle cell community and impacted the daily lives of so many people living with SCD. We are privileged to unite leaders from around the world on important and timely topics and create change for the better,” said
The 10th Annual SCD Therapeutics Conference will feature the following speakers and panelists:
Lewis Hsu , M.D., Ph.D., Chief Medical Officer, Director of the Sickle Cell Center and Professor of Pediatrics; Pediatric Hematologist,University of Illinois at Chicago Phyllis Arthur , M.B.A, Vice President, Infectious Diseases and Emerging Science Policy;Biotechnology Innovation Organization (BIO)- Professor
Baba Inusa , M.D., Lead Consultant Paediatric Sickle Cell and Thalassaemia, Evelina London Children’s Hospital; Guy’s andSt Thomas NHS Trust , Women and Children’s Health; Faculty of Life Sciences & Medicine, King’s College London Clarisse Lopes de Castro Lobo , M.D., Instituto de Hematologia Arthur de Siqueira Cavalcanti (HEMORIO)Caterina P. Minniti , M.D., Professor, Departments of Medicine and Pediatrics,Albert Einstein College of Medicine Immacolata Tartaglione , M.D., Ph.D.,Department of Woman, Child and General and Specialist Surgery, Università degli Studi dellaCampania “Luigi Vanvitelli”Derek Robertson , President,Maryland Sickle Cell Disease Association James Griffin , Speaker, Advocate & Author of Breaking Silence: Living With Sickle Cell AnemiaShanetta Richardson ,Patient Advocate , USChanel Taylor ,Patient Advocate & Founder , Unsickle My Cells,UK Carolyn Rowley , Ph.D., Executive Director,Cayenne Wellness Center Emma Andelson , M.P.A., Program Manager, Sick CellsLakiea Bailey , Ph.D., Executive Director,Sickle Cell Community Consortium Velvet Brown-Watts , M.S.W., Executive Director, Supporters of Families with Sickle Cell DiseaseReginald French , Chief Executive Officer,The Sickle Cell Foundation of Tennessee
Multiple companies that are developing treatments for patients with SCD will present at the conference. They include Agios Pharmaceuticals, Bluebird Bio, Forma Therapeutics, GBT, Imara, Inc., and Vertex Pharmaceuticals/CRISPR Therapeutics.
For more information about the conference or to register to attend, visit http://www.scdconference.com. Follow the conversation on Twitter using the hashtag #SCDTC.
About Sickle Cell Disease
Sickle cell disease (SCD) affects an estimated 100,000 people in the United States,1 an estimated 52,000 people in Europe,2 and millions of people throughout the world, particularly among those whose ancestors are from sub-Saharan Africa.1 It also affects people of Hispanic, South Asian, Southern European and Middle Eastern ancestry.1 SCD is a lifelong inherited rare blood disorder that impacts hemoglobin, a protein carried by red blood cells that delivers oxygen to tissues and organs throughout the body.3 Due to a genetic mutation, individuals with SCD form abnormal hemoglobin known as sickle hemoglobin. Through a process called hemoglobin polymerization, red blood cells become sickled – deoxygenated, crescent-shaped and rigid.3-5 The sickling process causes hemolytic anemia (low hemoglobin due to red blood cell destruction) and blockages in capillaries and small blood vessels, which impede the flow of blood and oxygen throughout the body. The diminished oxygen delivery to tissues and organs can lead to life-threatening complications, including stroke and irreversible organ damage.4-7
About Global Blood Therapeutics
Global Blood Therapeutics (GBT) is a biopharmaceutical company dedicated to the discovery, development and delivery of life-changing treatments that provide hope to underserved patient communities. Founded in 2011, GBT is delivering on its goal to transform the treatment and care of sickle cell disease (SCD), a lifelong, devastating inherited blood disorder. The company has introduced Oxbryta® (voxelotor) tablets, the first FDA-approved treatment that directly inhibits sickle hemoglobin polymerization, the root cause of red blood cell sickling in SCD. GBT is also advancing its pipeline program in SCD with inclacumab, a P-selectin inhibitor in Phase 3 development to address pain crises associated with the disease, and GBT021601 (GBT601), the company’s next-generation hemoglobin S polymerization inhibitor. In addition, GBT’s drug discovery teams are working on new targets to develop the next wave of potential treatments for SCD. To learn more, please visit www.gbt.com and follow the company on Twitter @GBT_news.
About SCDAA
SCDAA’s mission is: To advocate for people affected by sickle cell conditions and empower community-based organizations to maximize quality of life and raise public consciousness while advancing the search for a universal cure. Visit www.sicklecelldisease.org.
References
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention website. Sickle Cell Disease (SCD). https://www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/sicklecell/data.html. Accessed June 3, 2019.European Medicines Agency . https://www.ema.europa.eu/en/medicines/human/orphan-designations/eu3182125. Accessed June 12, 2020.- National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute website. Sickle Cell Disease. https://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health-topics/sickle-cell-disease. Accessed August 5, 2019.
- Rees DC, et al.
Lancet . 2010;376(9757):2018-2031. - Kato GJ, et al. Nat Rev Dis Primers. 2018;4:18010.
- Kato GJ, et al. J Clin Invest. 2017;127(3):750-760.
- Caboot JB, et al. Paediatr Respir Rev. 2014;15(1):17-23.
GBT Contact Information:
Steven Immergut (media)
650.410.3258
simmergut@gbt.com
Courtney Roberts (investors)
650.351.7881
croberts@gbt.com
SCDAA Contact Information:
eday@sicklecelldisease.org
kjacobs@sicklecelldisease.org

Source: Global Blood Therapeutics, Inc.