Emmaus Life Sciences Inc (OTCQX:EMMA) announced that it has entered into an agreement with Asembia to provide expanded support services and simplify access to Endari — the company's prescription L-glutamine oral powder for the treatment of sickle cell disease.
The Torrance, California-based company said that Asembia will provide a single point of contact for benefits investigation, financial and co-pay assistance, as well as patient and provider education.
READ: Emmaus Life Sciences progressing with expanding availability of lead drug Endari internationally
"The agreement with Asembia is an important step for Emmaus, as their team will assist in streamlining the insurance authorization process for Endari as well as deployment of our various patient assistance programs," said Yutaka Niihara, CEO of Emmaus in a statement.
Niihara added: "This should meaningfully improve efficiency in the delivery of our Endari to sickle cell disease patients in need of this critically important therapy."
There are approximately 100,000 people living with sickle cell disease (SCD) in the United States. The sickle gene is found in every ethnic group, not just among those of African descent; and in the United States, an estimated 1-in-365 African Americans and 1-in-16,300 Hispanic Americans are born with SCD.
Lawrence Irene, Chief Executive Officer of Asembia said that the company is focused on positively impacting the patient journey “through our comprehensive suite of patient services solutions for pharmaceutical companies, like Emmaus."
"We, look forward to partnering with Emmaus to help expand access to Endari, while positively impacting the overall patient and prescriber experience," Irene added.
Asembia is a business solutions provider for specialty pharmaceuticals and related services.
Emmaus is a commercial-stage biopharmaceutical company and leader in the treatment of sickle cell disease. The company currently markets U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved Endari (L-glutamine oral powder) indicated to reduce the acute complications of sickle cell disease in patients aged 5 and above.
The company is also engaged in the discovery and development of innovative treatments and therapies for certain rare and orphan diseases as well as those affecting larger populations, such as diverticulosis.
Contact Ritika at ritika@proactiveinvestors.com