# Phase 2 Defibrotide PPX in High Risk SCD Pts w/MAC&Haplo AlloSCT IND127812 9-3-15

> **NIH FDA R01** · NEW YORK MEDICAL COLLEGE · 2020 · $499,999

## Abstract

PROJECT SUMMARY
Sickle cell disease (SCD) is a rare orphan disease in the United States (US), affecting approximately 100,000
people in the US. SCD is characterized by severe vaso-occlusive disease, resulting in endothelial cell
dysfunction, chronic organ damage, poor health-related quality of life (HRQL) and early mortality. The only
known curative therapy for patients with high-risk SCD is allogeneic stem cell transplantation (AlloSCT) from
an unaffected HLA-matched sibling donor (MSD). However, only 15% of high-risk patients with SCD have such
donors. In the last grant cycle we successfully demonstrated the safety and feasibility of familial haploidentical
(FHI) AlloSCT utilizing CD34 enrichment and CD3 (T cell) addback after myeloimmunoablative conditioning
(MIAC) in children and adolescents (IND#14359) (5R01FD004090) (NCT61461837). During that grant cycle
the CD34 enrichment methodology utilizing the CliniMACS® technology was approved by the FDA, in part due
to the results of this investigation. Limitations of this approach include: 1) lack of safety data in young adults
with high-risk SCD; 2) high risk of transplant-related mortality secondary to endothelial dysfunction and
sinusoidal obstructive syndrome (SOS); and 3) potential for long-term toxicity, especially infertility. Defibrotide
is a mixture of polydisperse oligonucleotides that targets small vessel endothelium with antithrombotic and
fibrinolytic activity. Defibrotide is approved in Europe, but not the US, and has been demonstrated to reduce
mortality significantly in patients who have develop severe SOS post-MIAC AlloSCT. Our FHI AlloSCT SCD
consortium (www.sicklecelltransplantconsortium.org) has obtained a new IND (127812) to investigate the
safety, feasibility and efficacy of defibrotide prophylaxis prior to and during MIAC and FHI AlloSCT utilizing
CD34 enrichment and T cell addback in children, adolescents and young adults with high-risk SCD. The
specific aims include (brief): 1) assess safety, toxicity and efficacy of defibrotide prophylaxis to prevent severe
SOS; 2) investigate safety and efficacy of decreasing the dose of cyclophosphamide in the MIAC by 50%; 3)
identify new endothelial biomarkers and methods of non-invasive hepatic imaging associated with SOS; 4)
determine the incidence of late effects in the current and two new cohorts, with a focus on fertility preservation;
5) determine the probability of acute and chronic GVHD, and levels of whole blood and RBC-enriched donor
chimerism, and cellular immune reconstitution; 6) estimate changes in pulmonary, cardiovascular and
pulmonary vascular function; and 7) characterize changes in neuroimaging, neurocognitive function and
HRQL. The long-term objectives are to obtain sufficient data to contribute to FDA approval of defibrotide
prophylaxis to prevent severe SOS in high-risk patients with SCD, facilitate this successful therapeutic
approach to at-risk young adults with SCD, reduce the dose of cyclophosphamide by 50% in ...

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 9997677
- **Project number:** 5R01FD004090-08
- **Recipient organization:** NEW YORK MEDICAL COLLEGE
- **Principal Investigator:** Mitchell S. Cairo
- **Activity code:** R01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** FDA
- **Fiscal year:** 2020
- **Award amount:** $499,999
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2012-04-16 → 2022-08-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/9997677

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 9997677, Phase 2 Defibrotide PPX in High Risk SCD Pts w/MAC&Haplo AlloSCT IND127812 9-3-15 (5R01FD004090-08). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-24 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/9997677. Licensed CC0.

---

*[NIH grants dataset](/datasets/nih-grants) · CC0 1.0*