It’s the weekend, and we hope you are finding a little rest, relaxation, and joy at home.
In today’s Special Weekend Edition of Good Day BIO, we’re taking a brief break from all the news surrounding COVID-19 to share the latest episode of the I AM BIO podcast: Sickle Cell Saviors.
Sickle cell disease is an inherited red blood cell disease that can cause debilitating pain and lifelong complications. In the United States, the disease disproportionately affects African Americans.
In November, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved Global Blood Therapeutics’ Oxbryta, the first drug that attacks the underlying cause of sickle cell disease.
In this episode, you'll hear from three inspiring guests:
- Global Blood Therapeutics CEO Dr. Ted Love, who talks about the history of the disease and how GBT’s diverse, majority-minority workforce drove this groundbreaking discovery.
- Mapillar Dahn, Founder of the My Three Sicklers Sickle Cell Foundation, who has three daughters born with the disease. She talks about the realities of discrimination in U.S. health systems.
- Dr. Helen Torley, CEO of Halozyme and the leader of BIO’s Workforce Development, Diversity and Inclusion Committee, who explains how BIO is working to create a new generation of diverse leadership in the biotech industry, and how the sickle cell breakthrough shows why it's important for biotech workforces to represent the communities they serve.
Why it matters: Whether it’s fighting Covid-19 or looking for innovative ways to treat other devastating diseases, providing hope and saving lives is what the men and women of the biopharmaceutical industry strive for every day.
Listen to the full podcast by visiting www.bio.org/podcast or wherever you get your podcast fix including Apple, Google, and Spotify.
Learn more about why diversity matters in biotech at www.rightmixmatters.org.
Learn more about MTS Sickle Cell Foundation at www.mythreesicklers.org.
We’ll be back on Monday with the news.
