Huge strides have been made since then and haematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) is now an effective treatment –even a cure– for haematological malignancies and other non-malignant haematological diseases.
Yet, up to 70% of patients that receive stem cell transplants, especially those who receive them from an unrelated donor, are impacted by acute graft-versus-host disease (aGvHD), where the transplanted donor T-cells attack the recipient’s healthy tissue and organs.
Now, health professionals have a new weapon in their arsenal after the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved the first therapy designed to prevent aGvHD – Bristol Myers Squibb’s (BMS) arthritis drug, Orencia (abatacept).
