Staying in the Lead

Join us on Friday, December 5, 2025, in Orlando, FL or via live stream! Click below for more information and to register.

There is no registration fee for attending this CME symposium; however, space is limited. Preregistration does not guarantee entry. We recommend arriving at the meeting room early.

Faculty

Lakiea Bailey, PhD
Director
Sickle Cell Consortium
Patient Advocate, Educator, Research Scientist
Cumming, Georgia

Modupe Idowu, MD
Professor, Department of Internal Medicine
Director, Hematology Division
Director, UTP Comprehensive Adult Sickle Cell Center
Associate Director, UTHealth Hematology/Oncology Fellowship Program
UTHealth Houston McGovern Medical School
Houston, Texas

Nirmish Shah, MD
Associate Professor
Division of Hematology
Division of Pediatric Hematology/Oncology
Duke University
Durham, North Carolina

Program Overview

Join us for an engaging CME COMPETE™ activity where education meets competition! This program offers an interactive, case-based format designed to deepen clinician knowledge and application of management strategies in SCD. Participants will explore the complexities of the patient journey while evaluating evidence surrounding current and emerging therapies, including novel targeted pyruvate kinase (PK) activators. Faculty experts will facilitate discussions on guideline-directed management, treatment selection, and transitions of care, challenging attendees to apply clinical data in key decision-making areas. Through this structured competition—earning points and recognition—learners will enhance their ability to individualize therapy and optimize outcomes for patients across the continuum of SCD care.

Target Audience

The educational design of this activity addresses the needs of adult and pediatric hematologists, pediatricians, and internal/family medicine MDs, NPs, PAs, and nurses who care for patients with sickle cell disease (SCD).

Educational Objectives

After completing this activity, the participant should be better able to:

• Individualize treatment strategies for patients with SCD that reflect current clinical practice guidelines and incorporate FDA-approved therapies
• Implement patient-centered management approaches that include shared decision-making, effective patient and caregiver education, and evidence-based transition of care practices

Agenda

Welcome, Faculty Introductions, and Brief Overview of Game Components

SCD Today—Fast Facts and Ongoing Needs

• Visual journey through SCD (a whiteboard animation)
• Symptoms in childhood and adulthood
• Standards of care and available guideline recommendations
• Unmet needs beyond pain crises

Beyond Hydroxyurea—FDA-Approved Disease Modifying Therapies

• L-glutamine
• Crizanlizumab

Gene Editing Therapies and Stem Cell Transplant—Transformative vs Curative Options

• FDA-approved gene-editing therapy
  • Biologic response, long-term durability, and safety
• Curative stem cell transplantation eligibility criteria
• Benefits and challenges of allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation
• Best practices and expert consensus on treatment selection and implementation

The Future of SCD Therapy? Exploring PK Activator Therapy and Other Investigational Agents

• Rationale for PK targets in SCD drug development
• Efficacy and safety of emerging small molecule PK activator therapies
• Other late-stage developments
• Future outlook for potential placement and implementation of emerging therapies

Posttest and Audience Q&A