Posted on September 08, 2023 by Aldevron

The Patient Perspective: ‘The Work You’re Doing is Helping Me’

September is National Sickle Cell Awareness Month, designated by Congress to recognize the strength and determination of the individuals living with the condition and bring attention to the need for research and treatment of sickle cell disease.

Tom Foti serves as Vice President/GM of the Aldevron’s Protein Business Unit, which he helped establish in 2009, with our founders Michael Chambers and John Ballantyne. Tom has guided the business unit’s growth through more than a decade of rapid company and industry change.

He recently spoke with James Griffin, a sickle cell patient and author of the book Breaking Silence: Living With Sickle Cell Anemia. James has spoken at Aldevron on several occasions and inspired our employees with his positive attitude and support of medical innovation. Here are edited excerpts from their conversation.

Tom Foti: As you know, our mission at Aldevron is to help our clients develop curative therapies for several diseases, including sickle cell. As a way of creating a connection to that work, it’s great for us to talk to patients. What do you enjoy most about getting out and connecting with people in the scientific community?

James Griffin: For me, this is a great opportunity to say to your associates, “I live with sickle cell, and the work you're doing is helping me.” So, I provide the live model, so to speak. I love networking with them and just seeing the passion that they have for what they do.

TF: One thing you have shared with our team is that you have sickle cell SS. Explain this form of the disease and how you manage it.

JG: Sickle cell SS is the most severe form of the disease, causing complications that require frequent blood transfusions, hospitalizations, and the need for pain medications. Because I live with the most severe form, I have to constantly work to stay healthy. I drink a lot of water, exercise and maintain a healthy diet, so I can minimize the risk of pain crises.

TF: I know you chose to work in the medical field. Please share a little about what you do and what it’s like for you to be working in a hospital?

JG: I’m a medical assistant, and when I work with patients, I'm able to use the skills and knowledge that I learned from others who took care of me. I know what it's like to be a patient, and I understand empathy and sympathy. So, I’m able to provide reassurance to patients that we’re going to get them the best care we can.

TF: That’s very inspiring. In addition to your work and your book, what are you doing to help raise awareness of sickle cell and the sickle cell community?

JG: I continue to speak at pharmaceutical companies, universities, and blood drives. One of the most exciting opportunities for me was speaking to undergraduates at Harvard who want to go into the medical field. I continue to get out there and talk about sickle cell because it’s important to raise awareness. This is an honor for me.

TF: It’s certainly motivating to the team here to see you in person. There are more than 100,000 people in the United States that have sickle cell and roughly 3 million outside the U.S., and Aldevron is working with biotech and pharma companies, as well as academic institutions, to research new therapies. What does this work mean to you personally?

JG: Just hearing this makes me want to continue to do what I do. It's an exciting time, because so many scientists and companies want to help people with sickle cell. I grew up in the 90s, and there was nothing about sickle cell. Now we have technology that may cure sickle cell. Seeing how much we're progressing now gives me so much hope.