TORRANCE, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Emmaus Life Sciences, Inc. (Emmaus) is a proud sponsor of the upcoming 46th Annual National Sickle Cell Disease Association of America (SCDAA) Convention to be held in Baltimore, Md., Oct. 10-13. The SCDAA, under the new leadership of Beverly Francis-Gibson, is dedicated to educating and caring for patients whose lives are affected by this chronic condition.
The meeting will provide an opportunity for leaders of community-based organizations – the local groups that make enormous differences in patients’ lives – to learn about new therapies and methods of treatment, and to also gain a better understanding of patients with the aim of developing educational materials and outreach tools specifically geared to the sickle cell disease patient community. More than 600 people are expected to attend, comprised of community organization leaders, physicians and other caregivers, patients and biopharmaceutical companies that make and market disease modifying agents, such as Emmaus with its recently approved treatment, Endari™ (L-glutamine oral powder).
Emmaus, to better understand how it can address patients’ needs and encourage them to seek treatment, will be conducting a closed-door focus group led by Ashley Valentine, a sickle cell community leader and sibling of a sickle cell patient. Ms. Valentine stated: “Many patients feel disenfranchised, marginalized, neglected and ignored by the health care system. The SCDAA meeting is helpful in showing that practitioners care, and it also provides a venue for us to learn how to better reach patients and improve health and quality of life outcomes.”
Emmaus Life Sciences, the company that markets Endari, provided an unrestricted educational block grant to the SCDAA.
About Sickle Cell Disease
Sickle Cell Disease is an
inherited blood disorder characterized by the production of an altered
form of hemoglobin which polymerizes and becomes fibrous, causing red
blood cells to become rigid and change form so that they appear sickle
shaped instead of soft and rounded. Patients with Sickle Cell Disease
suffer from debilitating episodes of sickle cell crises, which occur
when the rigid, adhesive and inflexible red blood cells occlude blood
vessels. Sickle cell crises cause excruciating pain as a result of
insufficient oxygen being delivered to tissue, referred to as tissue
ischemia, and inflammation. These events may lead to a variety of other
adverse outcomes such as acute chest syndrome that requires
hospitalization. Sickle cell disease is an orphan disease, affecting
approximately 100,000 patients in the U.S. and millions worldwide with
significant unmet medical needs.
About Endari™
(L-glutamine oral powder)
Indication
Endari
is indicated to reduce the acute complications of sickle cell disease in
adult and pediatric patients 5 years of age and older.
Important
Safety Information
The most common adverse reactions (incidence >10 percent) in clinical studies were constipation, nausea, headache, abdominal pain, cough, pain in extremities, back pain, and chest pain.
Adverse reactions leading to treatment discontinuation included one case each of hypersplenism, abdominal pain, dyspepsia, burning sensation, and hot flash.
The safety and efficacy of Endari in pediatric patients with sickle cell disease younger than five years of age has not been established.
For more information, please see full Prescribing Information of Endari at: www.ENDARIrx.com/PI
About Emmaus Life Sciences, Inc.
Emmaus Life Sciences, Inc.
is a biopharmaceutical company engaged in the discovery, development and
commercialization of innovative treatments and therapies primarily for
rare and orphan disease. Its lead product, Endari, demonstrated positive
clinical results in the completed Phase 3 clinical trial for sickle cell
anemia and sickle ß0-thalassemia and has received U.S. FDA approval.
Visit: http://www.emmausmedical.com.
Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains
forward-looking statements as that term is defined in the Private
Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, regarding the research,
development and potential commercialization of pharmaceutical products.
Such forward-looking statements are based on current expectations and
involve inherent risks and uncertainties, including factors that could
delay, divert or change any of them, and could cause actual outcomes and
results to differ materially from current expectations. Additional risks
and uncertainties are described in reports filed by Emmaus Life
Sciences, Inc. with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission,
including its Annual Report on Form 10-K and Quarterly Reports on Form
10-Q. Emmaus is providing this information as of the date of this press
release and does not undertake any obligation to update any
forward-looking statements as a result of new information, future events
or otherwise.
