Pfizer’s decision to discontinue the sickle cell drug leaves patients reeling, making the case for reeling

Pfizer’s decision Wednesday to withdraw its sickle cell pill from sale over safety concerns shocked advocates and doctors, leaving many scrambling for answers and looking for ways to educate their patients about a drug that has long divided the community.

The move underscored the severity of the risks recently observed in studies of the drug Oxbryta, in which researchers reported a number of deaths among patients receiving the drug. European regulators also said Thursday that patients in the trials were more likely to experience pain crises characteristic of sickle cell disease once they started taking Oxbryta, also called voxelotor, than before taking the drug.

The study is still ongoing, but the findings raise serious concerns for patient safety. They have also raised questions about the corporate decisions of Global Blood Therapeutics, which originally developed the drug, and Pfizer, as well as the regulatory processes that led to its approval.