Seminar explores better treatment, prevention of hemophilia

More efforts are needed in early diagnosis and treatment to help the world's patients suffering from the incurable disease hemophilia, industry experts said.

On Saturday, WuXi AppTec, a global provider of research and development and manufacturing services enabling healthcare companies, launched a public welfare seminar on hemophilia, aimed at gathering medical professionals and research experts from home and abroad to explore the latest trends in diagnosis and treatment, and new developments in research and development in the field.

Seventy-five percent patients can hardly get effective treatment, data from the World Federation of Hemophilia showed. However, with joint efforts in the industry, diagnosis and treatment methods are constantly being innovated.

Yang Renchi, head of the China rare blood disease working group under the Holistic Integrative Society of Hematology, said that for hemophilia patients, early diagnosis and treatment lowers bleeding risk. In recent years, with joint efforts from the industry, the diagnosis and treatment level of hemophilia experienced rapid development. From traditional clotting factor replacement therapy to innovative gene therapy, the treatment model for hemophilia is constantly developing.

"With the country's economic growth, we have seen rapid growth in hemophilia care in recent years. The treatment policies in many cities were well implemented, and the medical insurance and public fund greatly improved patients' quality of life," said Wang Xuefeng, director of the Inspection Department of Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine.

The preventative treatment method benefits children and adult patients. In the future, more adequate treatment for patients will be offered, letting them lead a normal life. Through standardized genetic testing, family genetic risk and the birth rate of new patients will be minimized, he said.

Yang said that compared to 30 years ago, the living situation of China's hemophilia patients had improved a lot. The working group is now cooperating with related organizations and the media to increase public awareness, publicizing that it is a preventable and controllable disease, as a couple can get genetic counseling before they get pregnant.

"We believe that one day in the future, the disease will be completely curable," he said.