SCDAA Shares in Excitement About Exjade, New Treatment Now Available to Treat Iron Overload

(AANEWSWIRE)The Sickle Cell Disease Association of America (SCDAA) is excited to share the news that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved Exjade, also known as deferasirox, for once-a-day oral treatment of adults and children with chronic iron overload due to blood transfusions.

Part of the SCDAA's mission is to help improve the lives of individuals and families wherein sickle cell related conditions exist. We believe that this approval, the first in the world for a once-a-day oral iron chelator, can help accomplish that by potentially transforming the face of treatment for people affected by Sickle Cell Disease (SCD).

Because of its convenience and ease of use, the SCDAA believes that the availability of Exjade will present a significant advancement in the treatment of chronic iron overload, and could help many patients who are unable to comply with infusion therapy, or who are not being treated for their iron overload.

Sickle Cell Disease and Iron Overload

Sickle cell disease is managed largely with supportive care -- care that is aimed at improving a person's quality of life by focusing on the psychological, emotional and physical concerns associated with the disease. Staying well hydrated, use of medication and blood transfusions are all important parts of the supportive care of SCD.

Regularly scheduled blood transfusions treat SCD by increasing the number of normal red blood cells in circulation, which in turn helps to reduce episodes of stroke and other complications. The value of transfusion is increasingly recognized in helping SCD patients.

However, repeated transfusions also cause excess iron to accumulate in the heart, liver, and other organs. This often leads to a potentially life-threatening condition called iron overload. If iron overload is left undiagnosed and untreated, it can lead to debilitating and life-threatening consequences, including damage to the liver, heart and endocrine glands -- causing many clinicians, patients and parents to be concerned about transfusion therapy.

Excess iron can be removed by using an iron chelator, a medical treatment that binds to the iron and helps to remove it from the body. While patients have access to an infused iron chelation therapy, Desferal, also known as deferoxamine, many of them have been unable to comply with the treatment due to the lengthy and frequent subcutaneous infusions, which may cause pain, bruising and scarring.

The FDA decision comes just over a month after Dr .Ohene-Frempong, Chairman of the SCDAA Board and Dr.Willarda Edwards, President and COO, spoke on behalf of the Association at a Blood Products Advisory Committee (BPAC) meeting of the FDA, which resulted in a unanimous vote to recommend the approval of Exjade.

The SCDAA encourages sickle cell patients and their families to use this as an opportunity to speak with their healthcare provider about how blood transfusions and iron chelation therapy fit into their treatment plans.

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