HEALTH : Hemophilia Drug Held Effective

Doctors report that a new drug designed to help make blood clot in people with hemophilia is safe and effective. The drug is supposed to be an exact copy of the natural clotting substance known as Factor VIII. It was developed through genetic engineering techniques by Cutter Biological in Berkeley, Calif.

In tests on 107 people with hemophilia, the researchers concluded that the genetically engineered version of Factor VIII “is safe and clinically effective for the prevention and treatment” of bleeding due to hemophilia.

The findings, to be reported Thursday in the New England Journal of Medicine, mean that hemophiliacs may some day be able to use the new drug to stop their bleeding without the risk of developing AIDS or other potentially deadly diseases associated with conventional treatment.