GLENDALE : Safer Drug Approved for Treating Hemophilia

A new genetically engineered drug for the bleeding disorder hemophilia A was approved for marketing by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration Thursday.

The drug, called factor VIII with the trade name Recombinate, is manufactured by Baxter Healthcare Corp. of Glendale. Earlier this year, FDA also approved a genetically engineered form of factor IX, which is used to treat hemophilia B.

In the past, the condition was treated with a clotting factor extracted from human blood. Before techniques to safeguard the blood supply were developed, many hemophiliac patients became infected with the AIDS virus or other infections.