Driving into work this morning, I heard that Biogen Idec is seeking FDA approval for a new breakthrough drug to treat Hemophilia A. The drug, a recombinant factor VIII Fc fusion protein (rFVIIIFc), provides a longer-lasting version of the clotting factor that is missing in these patients, and could help significantly reduce the frequency of injections for these patients (a big deal for children with an inherited bleeding disorder!)

The fusion protein approach is based on technology developed in part at Brandeis, by a collaboration involving Neil Simister‘s laboratory and researchers at Children’s Hospital and Brigham and Women’s Hospital, then further developed by a spinoff company, Syntonix Pharmaceuticals. Syntonix was acquired by Biogen Idec in 2007.