CBF Honors Hispanic Heritage & Sickle Cell Awareness This September

Monthly Newsletter

CBF Honors Hispanic Heritage & Sickle Cell Awareness This September

September 2024

September is National Sickle Cell Awareness Month

Each September, people living with Sickle cell disease (SCD), along with caregivers, advocates, healthcare providers, and others, come together for National Sickle Cell Awareness Month. Their goal: to help improve knowledge and understanding about the disease and dispel myths and stigmas surrounding it. The observance month also brings attention to the ongoing need for research, better patient care, overcoming racial stigmas, access to new treatments, and widely available cures.

SCD is the most common inherited blood disorder in the United States. It affects over 9,000 Californians, 100,000 Americans and more than 20 million people worldwide – 90 percent of whom are Black or African American.

With SCD, red blood cells, which are typically disc shaped and flexible, are instead crescent, or “sickle,” shaped. The cells do not bend or move easily and can block blood flow throughout the body. This can lead to serious conditions such as stroke and infections, as well as eye problems and episodes of severe pain.

Over the years, the life science industry, health advocacy organizations and government agencies have supported research that has helped make important discoveries possible. This includes gene therapies that aim to treat or cure conditions by adding new DNA or changing existing DNA. In fact, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved two new gene therapies for SCD. Casgevy by Vertex Pharmaceuticals uses a gene-editing approach and Lyfgenia by bluebird bio uses a gene-addition process to treat sickle cell disease. These new treatments are expected to help people with sickle cell disease live longer, less painful, and more productive lives.

It is also important to note that one of the major barriers to care for people living with SCD includes the racial stigma associated with care and treatment of the disease. Dr. Ted Love, Chair of the Board of Directors for the Biotechnology Innovation Organization and former lead at Global Blood Therapeutics, Inc. addresses the ongoing healthcare disparities facing the sickle cell disease community in this article.

Visit the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute’s Cure Sickle Cell Initiative website where researchers and clinicians are advancing promising gene therapies to cure SCD. Join the Sickle Cell Disease Foundation and Networking California for Sickle Cell Care in bringing greater awareness to sickle cell disease. Check out their Sickle Cell Disease Awareness Month Toolkit which includes resources to help individuals better understand sickle cell disease.

CBF Celebrates Hispanic Heritage Month

September 15th marks the beginning of Hispanic Heritage Month. Running through October 15th, it’s an important time of year to recognize the many historic and ongoing contributions of Hispanic Americans to American life. Hispanics and Latinos have contributed a great deal to science, medicine, and biotechnology over the years. Please join CBF in celebrating Hispanic Heritage Month by learning more about some of the many Hispanic and Latinx leaders in California who have made important contributions to the life science industry.

Susana López Charretón, is a Mexican virologist who gained international recognition for her work on rotavirus—a highly contagious virus that most commonly affects children. Her most important research on rotavirus identified the ways in which the virus enters the body.

Grace Colón, Ph.D. serves as an advisor for South San Francisco-based InCarda Therapeutics brings over 25 years of experience in biopharma, genomics, healthcare and industrial biotechnology. Most recently, she was CEO and President of InCarda Therapeutics where she led the company from a seed stage start-up to one with a best-in-class inhaled cardiovascular disease therapy. Watch this interview with Dr. Colón.

Lydia Villa-Komaroff is a biologist whose research on recombinant DNA uncovered a way to use bacteria cells to make insulin. She is also the co-founder of The Society for the Advancement of Chicanos/Hispanics and Native Americans in Science, an organization dedicated to increase the success of Chicano, Hispanic, and Native American students in receiving advanced degrees, careers, and leadership positions in STEM fields.

Miguel Motta serves as the VP of Strategic Operations for Biocom CA where he is responsible for customizing and delivering the Biocom CA benefits to their San Diego members. Read more here.

Diana Ramos, M.D. is the Surgeon General of California. She is a well-recognized public health leader dedicated to improving health care quality and equity. Read this interview with Dr. Ramos.

Luis Fernando Santana, Ph.D. is the inaugural Vice Dean for Basic Sciences, professor and Arline Miller Rolkin Endowed Chair in Physiology and Membrane Biology, and the Interim Chair of the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Medicine at U.C. Davis Health School of Medicine. His multidisciplinary approach to science involves state-of-the-art biophysical, electrophysiological, imaging, cellular, molecular, and computational approaches.

Esteban Santos serves as executive vice president of Operations at Amgen. Esteban is responsible for the Operations organization, which encompasses Manufacturing, Process Development, Quality, Engineering and Global Supply Chain.

Anabella Villalobos is a Panamanian medicinal chemist and senior vice president of Biotherapeutic and Medicinal Sciences at Biogen. She received her BS in chemistry from the University of Panama. In 1987, she earned her PhD at the University of Kansas. Villalobos contributed to the Acetylcholinesterase Inhibitor program which led to the development of Icopezil, a drug that advanced to Phase II clinical trials for Alzheimer’s disease.

Willie Zuñiga is the emeritus president of Los Angeles-area Grifols Biologicals. For decades, he has led initiatives aimed at supporting life science education and workforce development within CSU Los Angeles and the surrounding communities. Watch this presentation from Mr. Zuñiga.

Stay informed on the latest news and trends on the economic and health benefits of this industry by visiting CABiotech.org

If you have any questions about hosting informational briefings for your colleagues serving in the legislature, contact California Biotechnology Foundation Executive Director Patty Cooper at (916)764-2434 or [email protected].