Hematopoietic stem cell (HSC) research over the past century has shown that leukemia may be driven by an invisible hand of inflammation. The bone marrow and inflammation, then, may hold the keys to preventing blood cancers, according to John E. Dick’s plenary session at the 2026 Korean Society of Hematology International Conference (ICKSH 2026), held March 26, 2026. Work in Dick’s lab has found acute myeloid leukemia (AML) HSCs that harbor preleukemic mutations long before any disease diagnosis. These insights have enabled predictive models that could identify individuals at elevated AML risk years before the onset of outright disease, opening the door to new prevention strategies.
Epifrontier Therapeutics Inc. has been awarded a grant of up to $32 million in nondilutive funding from the Japan Agency for Medical Research and Development (AMED) to advance the clinical development of EPF-001 (RK-701), a first-in-class G9a inhibitor being developed for sickle cell disease and β-thalassemia.
On the average, humans – and pigs, and deer, and birds – who live at high altitudes have better blood glucose control than their counterparts near sea level. In work published in the Feb. 19, 2026, issue of Cell Metabolism, investigators have linked this phenomenon to red blood cells that directly take up and metabolize glucose from the blood under low oxygen conditions.
Sunshine Lake Pharma Co. Ltd. has divulged heterocyclic fused ring compounds acting as pyruvate kinase PKLR activators potentially useful for the treatment of anemia, abetalipoproteinemia, hemolysis, hereditary spherocytosis, sickle cell disease and thalassemia.
A University of Sydney patent details new cyclic peptides acting as coagulation factor XIa inhibitors reported to be useful for the treatment of thrombosis.
Linkcure Therapeutics has synthesized molecular glue degraders acting as zinc finger protein 803 (ZNF803; WIZ) degradation inducers reported to be useful for the treatment of sickle cell anemia and β-thalassemia.
The acquired von Willebrand syndrome (AVWS) is a rare bleeding disorder with laboratory findings similar to those of inherited von Willebrand disease. Researchers from the Nara Medical University and collaborating institutions presented a potential therapeutic approach for AVWS.
Sickle cell disease (SCD) is an inherited hemoglobinopathy caused by a mutation in the gene encoding β-globin that results in hemoglobin S polymerization, red blood cell (RBC) sickling and hemolytic anemia, among others.
Despite therapeutic advances, multiple myeloma (MM) remains incurable, with most patients relapsing and developing resistance, especially those refractory to proteasome inhibitors, immunomodulatory drugs and anti-CD38 antibodies. Limited options and poor prognosis highlight the need for new agents with distinct mechanisms and better safety.
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