SWITZERLAND – Roche is set to participate in the International Society on Thrombosis and Haemostasis (ISTH) 2021 congress with new data on standard care for Haemophilia A.

This virtual event will have Roche provide data that will include final analysis from the phase 3b STASEY study of Hemlibra (emicizumab) and updated data from the phase I/II study of SPK-8011, an AAV-based gene therapy in development by Spark Therapeutics (a member of the Roche Group).

Roche’s STASEY study is one of the largest open-label studies primarily assessing the safety and tolerability of a medicine for adults and adolescents with haemophilia A having factor VIII inhibitors.

The ISTH congress which has been active since 1970 will this time take place from the 17th-21st of July and will bring together the world’s leading experts on thrombosis, hemostasis and vascular biology to present the most recent advances, exchange the latest science and discuss the newest clinical applications designed to improve patient care.

Haemophilia A is a serious, inherited bleeding disorder in which a person’s blood doesn’t clot properly, as they either lack or do not have enough of a clotting protein called factor VIII.

This can lead to uncontrolled bleeding, either spontaneously or after minor trauma and can present a significant health concern as they often cause pain that leads to chronic swelling, deformity, reduced mobility, and long-term joint damage.

The development of factor VIII inhibitors can be a significant challenge in the treatment of people with haemophilia A as they bind to and block the efficacy of replacement factor VIII.

Roche has been developing medicines for people with malignant and non-malignant blood diseases for over 20 years and they believe this new innovation will bring better treatment options for patients globally who suffer from haematological complications.

The company already has several approved medication for blood diseases and they include MabThera/Rituxan (rituximab), Gazyva/Gazyvaro (obinutuzumab), Polivy (polatuzumab vedotin), and Venclexta/Venclyxto (venetoclax) in collaboration with AbbVie.

It also has other drugs in the pipeline which include T-cell engaging bispecific antibodies, glofitamab and mosunetuzumab, targeting both CD20 and CD3, and cevostamab, targeting FcRH5 and CD3; Tecentriq (atezolizumab), a monoclonal antibody designed to bind with PD-L1; and crovalimab, an anti-C5 antibody engineered to optimise complement inhibition.

According to Research And Markets, the global hematology drugs market is expected to grow from US$78.83B in 2020 to US$82.57B in 2021 at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 4.7% and by 2025 it expected to get to US$ 119.92B at a CAGR of 10%.