EpimedX is one of i2E’s most exciting and promising client companies. It is developing a treatment for Sickle Cell Disease that can actually reverse the condition by restoring what is known as fetal hemoglobin in patients.
Oklahoma Magazine recently featured the company and co-founder Dr. Robert Broyles in its April editions. Here is the lead to the story and a link to the whole article at the magazine website:
THE CELL HUNTER
By Paul Fairchild
Copyright © 2013 Schuman Publications. All rights reserved.
Longtime OU professor, Dr. Robert Broyles, is a hunter. One of the world’s deadliest scourges, sickle cell anemia, sits squarely in his sights. He recently founded EpimedX, an Oklahoma City company that will enable him to pull the trigger. After 20 years in the blind, the geneticist and his colleagues are roughly 10 years away from firing the magic bullet that will put sickle cell anemia down once and for all.
Taking down sickle cell anemia is a lofty goal. Broyles’ goals for his cure are equally lofty and go beyond saving lives. “This will change the lives of individuals with sickle cell disease in third world countries. Children born in those countries with sickle cell anemia almost always die before they turn 5,” he says, “It’s a life or death thing for those people. In the U.S., where every baby born is tested for the disease, we’re able to identify them early. They don’t die as young, but they’ll still have serious health issues and painful lives. They’re always in crisis, in and out of emergency rooms. It’s hard for a person in that situation to get an education, much less hold a job. It’s not just a health issue.”
Click here to read the entire article at the OK Magazine website.
