GBT Accepting Proposals for 2020 ACCEL Grants to Support Novel Access-to-Care Programs for People Living with Sickle Cell Disease

SOUTH SAN FRANCISCO, Calif., Feb. 20, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Global Blood Therapeutics, Inc. (GBT) (NASDAQ: GBT) today announced that it is accepting proposals for its Access to Excellent Care for Sickle Cell Patients (ACCEL) Grant Program, which provides grant funding to expand novel access-to-care programs for people living with sickle cell disease (SCD). In 2020, the ACCEL program will fund up to five proposals, providing a grant of up to $50,000 each. GBT created the program in 2019 to accelerate the development of innovative and sustainable programs that have the potential over time to improve access to quality healthcare for people living with this lifelong inherited blood disorder.

“The sickle cell community represents a highly underserved population that faces significant challenges in accessing high-quality care over their lifetime, which has a significant impact on the course of their disease,” said Jung E. Choi, chief business and strategy officer, and head of patient advocacy and government affairs at GBT. “We created the ACCEL program to help committed members of the sickle cell community address these very real challenges. As part of our mission to dramatically improve the lives of people with SCD, we look forward to supporting U.S.-based nonprofit organizations that are working on innovative healthcare programs to help patients access the care they need and deserve.”

GBT launched ACCEL in February 2019 and provided more than $200,000 in grant funding to U.S.-based nonprofit organizations serving patients with SCD and their families. In 2020, priority areas will include expanding existing community outreach models using community health workers to facilitate patient access to care; innovative training programs for healthcare professionals; leveraging available capacity by partnering with non-SCD stakeholders; improving the transition from pediatric to adult care; and innovative nurse practitioner outreach care models.

“In 2019, the ACCEL program received so many compelling proposals from highly qualified applicants that it was difficult to select just five,” said Lewis Hsu, M.D., director of the Pediatric Sickle Cell Program and professor of pediatrics at the University of Illinois at Chicago. “Having served on the ACCEL 2019 review committee, I look forward to seeing GBT support additional innovative programs that have potential to positively impact patient care and help improve the lives of many children and adults living with SCD.”

GBT is accepting proposals for the ACCEL program through April 30. Submitted proposals will be reviewed by a panel of GBT and external stakeholders with expertise in the issues affecting people with SCD. The panel will select grant recipients based on the strength of the proposal, degree of innovation and potential impact on SCD patient care. More information about the ACCEL program, including how to submit a proposal, can be found here.

About Sickle Cell Disease
Sickle cell disease (SCD) affects an estimated 100,000 people in the United States and millions of people throughout the world, particularly among those whose ancestors are from sub-Saharan Africa. It also affects people of Hispanic, South Asian, Southern European and Middle Eastern ancestry.¹ SCD is a lifelong inherited blood disorder that impacts hemoglobin, a protein carried by red blood cells that delivers oxygen to tissues and organs throughout the body.² Due to a genetic mutation, people with SCD form abnormal hemoglobin known as sickle hemoglobin. Through a process called hemoglobin polymerization, red blood cells become sickled – deoxygenated, crescent-shaped and rigid.^2,3,4 The sickling process causes hemolytic anemia (low hemoglobin due to red blood cell destruction) and blockages in capillaries and small blood vessels, which impede the flow of blood and oxygen throughout the body. The diminished oxygen delivery to tissues and organs can lead to life-threatening complications, including stroke and irreversible organ damage.^4,5,6

About Global Blood Therapeutics
Global Blood Therapeutics (GBT) is a biopharmaceutical company dedicated to the discovery, development and delivery of life-changing treatments that provide hope to underserved patient communities. Founded in 2011, GBT is delivering on its goal to transform the treatment and care of sickle cell disease (SCD), a lifelong, devastating inherited blood disorder. The company has introduced Oxbryta™ (voxelotor), the first FDA-approved treatment that directly inhibits sickle hemoglobin polymerization, the root cause of SCD. GBT is also advancing its pipeline program in SCD with inclacumab, a p-selectin inhibitor in development to address pain crises associated with the disease. In addition, GBT’s drug discovery teams are working on new targets to develop the next generation of treatments for SCD. To learn more, please visit www.gbt.com and follow the company on Twitter @GBT_news.

Forward-Looking Statements
Certain statements in this press release are forward-looking within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, including statements containing the words “will,” “anticipates,” “plans,” “believes,” “forecast,” “estimates,” “expects” and “intends,” or similar expressions. These forward-looking statements are based on GBT’s current expectations and actual results could differ materially. Statements in this press release may include statements that are not historical facts and are considered forward-looking within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. GBT intends these forward-looking statements, including statements regarding the ACCEL Grant Program, including the related activities, priority areas and expectations, positively impacting patient care, improving the lives of people living with SCD, transforming the treatment and care of SCD, and advancing GBT’s pipeline and discovering, developing and delivering new treatments, to be covered by the safe harbor provisions for forward-looking statements contained in Section 27A of the Securities Act and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act, and GBT makes this statement for purposes of complying with those safe harbor provisions. These forward-looking statements reflect GBT’s current views about its plans, intentions, expectations, strategies and prospects, which are based on the information currently available to the company and on assumptions the company has made. GBT can give no assurance that the plans, intentions, expectations or strategies will be attained or achieved, and, furthermore, actual results may differ materially from those described in the forward-looking statements and will be affected by a variety of risks and factors that are beyond GBT’s control including, without limitation, the risks that GBT has only recently established its commercialization capabilities and may not be able to successfully commercialize Oxbryta, risks associated with GBT’s dependence on third parties for development, manufacture and commercialization activities related to Oxbryta, government and third-party payor actions, including those relating to reimbursement and pricing, risks and uncertainties relating to competitive products and other changes that may limit demand for Oxbryta, the risks regulatory authorities may require additional studies or data to support continued commercialization of Oxbryta, the risks that drug-related adverse events may be observed during commercialization or clinical development, and data and results may not meet regulatory requirements or otherwise be sufficient for further development, regulatory review or approval, along with those risks set forth in GBT’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2018, and in GBT’s most recent Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, as well as discussions of potential risks, uncertainties and other important factors in GBT’s subsequent filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Except as required by law, GBT assumes no obligation to update publicly any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

References

1. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention website. Sickle Cell Disease (SCD). https://www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/sicklecell/data.html. Accessed June 3, 2019.
2. National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute website. Sickle Cell Disease. https://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health-topics/sickle-cell-disease. Accessed August 5, 2019.
3. Rees DC, et al. Lancet. 2010;376(9757):2018-2031.
4. Kato GJ, et al. Nat Rev Dis Primers. 2018;4:18010.
5. Kato GJ, et al. J Clin Invest. 2017;127(3):750-760.
6. Caboot JB, Allen JL. Paediatr Respir Rev. 2014;15(1):17-23.

Contact Information:
Steven Immergut (media)
650-410-3258
simmergut@gbt.com

Stephanie Yao (investors)
650-741-7730
syao@gbt.com