NHS Approves First Ever Sickle Cell Disease Treatment After 20 Years; What Makes Crizanlizumab a Game Changer?

The NHS will soon get a "revolutionary" life-changing medication therapy for sickle cell disease. It is the condition's first new treatment in 20 years.

After the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) recommended that the medication be made accessible on the NHS, The Independent said the medicine would initially only be offered to about 300 people. But this will be increased to 450 in future years.

More common in African and Caribbean populations, sickle cell disease is a dangerous, lifelong illness that causes extreme pain and organ failure, necessitating frequent hospitalizations.

Crizanlizumab: First Ever Sickle Cell Disease Treatment In 2 Decades

According to the BBC, Novartis medicine crizanlizumab is injected into a vein and used alone or in conjunction with conventional therapy and blood transfusions.

Individuals on crizanlizumab experienced a sickle-cell crisis 1.6 times per year, compared to nearly three times per year on average in the control group.

Sickle-shaped red blood cells clog the tiny blood arteries, resulting in painful episodes that may necessitate hospitalization and lead to severe health issues.

However, because the study was tiny and only lasted a year, it's impossible to say how long the advantages will persist, making it difficult to assess the cost-effectiveness of crizanlizumab.

Nonetheless, NICE, which advices on treatments in England and Wales, supports it for over-16s on the NHS under exceptional circumstances rather than regularly.

Clinical studies will also be used to get more information about the therapy.

The Sickle Cell Society, a nonprofit, said the new therapy gave individuals with the world's most prevalent hereditary blood disorder "new hope."

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People with sickle cell disease will be offered their first new therapy in almost two decades, according to NHS chief executive Amanda Pritchard.

This groundbreaking therapy will help save lives, improve patients' quality of life, and cut trips to the emergency room in half.

The NHS has reached an agreement for this medicine, allowing them to give patients the most up-to-date and effective therapies at a cost that is reasonable to taxpayers, Pritchard said.

Who Can Receive Crizanlizumab?

The therapy will be available to those over the age of 16 who have numerous sickle cell crises every year.

According to Sickle Cell Society head Kye Gbangbola MBA, the novel therapy gives individuals with sickle cell disease, the world's most common hereditary blood ailment, fresh hope.

"The hope is improved quality of life for many living with the condition and their families," Gbangbola told Sky News.

It comes after Richard Okorogheye's blood donation program was begun.

After going missing, the 19-year-old was discovered dead in Epping Forest on 5 April. He had sickle cell illness.

A collection of black health charities, including ACLT (African Caribbean Leukaemia Trust) and community organizations Unsickle My Cells (CIC) and SickleKan, have collaborated with the donation drive named Bonded Blood: A Mother's Story.