JOIN THE CONVERSATION AT EHA 2026: REPURPOSING MEMANTINE FOR SICKLE CELL DISEASE (PHASE 3 TRIAL IN AFRICA)
Dear Community and Partners,
We are pleased to announce an upcoming event highlighting significant progress toward affordable, scalable, and equitable healthcare solutions for Sickle Cell Disease (SCD) — a condition that disproportionately affects Black, Brown, and African populations worldwide.
Prof. Max Gassmann of the University of Zürich will present on advances toward a Phase 3 Trial exploring the repurposing of Memantine as a treatment for Sickle Cell Disease.
SCD has long been marked by therapeutic neglect, systemic disparities, and financial barriers to care. This session introduces Memantine — an affordable therapeutic with an established safety profile and a targeted anti-sickling mechanism — as a promising step toward addressing these gaps.
The session will cover the science underpinning Memantine's anti-sickling mechanism, followed by a detailed overview of the architecture, goals, and execution of a potential upcoming clinical trial across the African continent. This trial will build on the safety and tolerability benchmarks established in the Phase IIa/IIb MeMAGEN open-label trial.
A strategic discussion will then address the regulatory challenges, clinical outcomes, and systemic pathways required to expand equitable SCD care globally — and the role Memantine could play in advancing health equity worldwide.
Developing accessible, cost-effective treatments is essential to dismantling health inequities.
We encourage researchers, clinicians, and health equity advocates attending EHA 2026 to join this important conversation.
Event Overview
REPURPOSING MEMANTINE FOR SICKLE CELL DISEASE: TOWARD A PHASE 3 TRIAL IN AFRICA
DATE: June 11th
TIME: 15:00-16:00
LOCATION: EHA Connect Hub, Rooms K18 + K19
VENUE: Stockholmsmässan, Mässvägen 1, 125 30 Älvsjö, Stockholm, Sweden
FEATURED PRESENTER: Prof. Max Gassmann
(Lead MeMAGEN, UZH Foundation / University of Zürich)
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IN SOLIDARITY,
THE TEAM AT BLACK HEALTH DOESN'T MATTER
