Unknown Manufacturer • In the US, voxelotor is indicated to treat sickle cell disease in both adult and pediatric patients aged 4 years and older. In Europe, it is indicated for the treatment of hemolytic anemia due to sickle cell disease (SCD) in adults and pediatric patients 12 years of age and older as monotherapy or in combination with hydroxyurea.
Voxelotor is a drug used to inhibit the polymerization of hemoglobin S, preventing the painful and sometimes lethal vaso-occlusive crises associated with sickle cell disease.
Sickle cell disease is characterized by deoxygenated sickle hemoglobin (HbS) polymerization. The genetic mutation causing this disease leads to the formation of abnormal, sickle-shaped red blood cells that aggregate and block blood vessels throughout the body, causing vaso-occlusive crises. Sickle-shaped red blood cells cannot effectively bind oxygen, thus incapable of allowing normal blood flow to organs. Voxelotor increases Hb oxygen affinity. It binds reversibly to hemoglobin (Hb) by forming a covalent bond with the N‐terminal valine of the α‐chain of the protein, resulting in an allosteric modification of Hb. Voxelotor stabilizes the oxygenated Hb state and prevents HbS polymerization by increasing hemoglobin’s affinity for oxygen.
