Phase 3 clinical trial results lead to approval of oral drug for red blood cell disorder
ACTIVATE trial generated positive safety and efficacy data for mitapivat.
About Hanny Al-Samkari, MD
Dr. Hanny Al-Samkari is the Peggy S. Blitz Endowed Chair in Hematology/Oncology at the Massachusetts General Hospital and an Associate Professor of Medicine Harvard Medical School. He is a classical hematologist and NIH-funded clinical investigator and serves as the Co-Director of the MGH Hereditary Hemorrhagic Telangiectasia (HHT) Center of Excellence. His clinical and research interests are in hemostasis, thrombosis and hemolysis, with focuses in HHT, immune thrombocytopenia, and hemolytic anemias. Additionally, Dr. Al-Samkari cares for patients with hematologic complications of cancer, including chemotherapy-induced thrombocytopenia. As a clinical investigator, Dr. Al-Samkari is an internationally recognized expert in the clinical development of novel therapeutics for these disorders, and serves as the principal investigator for many clinical trials, allowing him to offer new and promising treatment options to patients with these disorders.
Dr. Al-Samkari received his medical degree from Washington University in St. Louis, completed his residency in internal medicine at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania (where he also served as Chief Medical Resident), and completed his fellowship in hematology and medical oncology at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute-Massachusetts General Hospital combined program.
In his role as Co-Director of the MGH Hereditary Hemorrhagic Telangiectasia Center of Excellence, Dr. Al-Samkari cares for several hundred patients with HHT and has clinics dedicated to the care of patients with HHT. Patients with HHT seeking care at our internationally recognized center are encouraged to schedule an appointment with Dr. Al-Samkari.
Clinical Interests:
- Antiphospholipid antibody syndrome
- Autoimmune hemolytic anemia
- Hematologic complications of cancer (including chemotherapy-induced thrombocytopenia)
- Hereditary hemorrhagic telangiectasia (Osler-Weber-Rendu disease)
- Immune thrombocytopenia
- Red cell enzyme disorders (pyruvate kinase deficiency and others)
- Thalassemia
Treats:
- Adult
Locations
Mass General Cancer Center
55 Fruit St.
Boston, MA 02114
Phone: 617-726-5130
Phone: 877-726-5130
Medical Education
- MD, Washington University
- Residency, Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania
- Fellowship, Dana Farber Cancer Institute
- Fellowship, Massachusetts General Hospital
American Board Certifications
- Hematology, American Board of Internal Medicine
- Internal Medicine, American Board of Internal Medicine
- Medical Oncology, American Board of Internal Medicine
Accepted Insurance Plans
- Aetna
- Beech Street
- Blue Cross Blue Shield
- Blue Cross Blue Shield Medicare
- Cigna
- Commonwealth Care Alliance
- Coventry
- Fallon Health
- Harvard Pilgrim Health Care
- Humana
- Maine Community Health Options
- Mass General Brigham Health Plan
- MassHealth
- Medicaid CT
- Medicaid ME
- Medicaid NH
- Medicaid RI
- Medicaid VT
- Medicare
- Medicare ACO
- Multiplan
- Railroad Medicare
- Senior Whole Health
- TriCare
- Tufts Health Plan
- United Health Care
- Wellpoint
- WellSense
- WellSense NH
Note: This provider may accept more insurance plans than shown; please call the practice to find out if your plan is accepted.
Research
Dr. Al-Samkari specializes in conducting research on non-malignant hematologic diseases, with a focus on disorders of hemostasis, thrombosis, and hemolysis. He runs clinical trials of new medications to treat hereditary hemorrhagic telangiectasia (HHT), autoimmune hematologic conditions (such as immune thrombocytopenia, antiphospholipid antibody syndrome and autoimmune hemolytic anemia), hematologic complications of cancer (particularly chemotherapy-induced thrombocytopenia), and hereditary red cell disorders (including pyruvate kinase deficiency and thalassemia). He has has published over 140 peer-reviewed manuscripts and numerous book chapters. His original research has been featured in The New England Journal of Medicine, The Lancet, Annals of Internal Medicine and Blood, among other top peer-reviewed journals in hematology and medicine. Additionally, he is the current Executive Editor of Hematology: The ASH Education Program, an American Society of Hematology peer-reviewed publication.
Publications
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Selected publications:
Al-Samkari H, Galact?ros F, Glenth?j A, Rothman JA, Andres O, Grace RF, Morado-Arias M, Layton DM, Onodera K, Verhovsek M, Barcellini W, Chonat S, Judge MP, Zagadailov E, Xu R, Hawkins P, Beynon V, Gheuens S, van Beers EJ; ACTIVATE Investigators. Mitapivat versus Placebo for Pyruvate Kinase Deficiency. New England Journal of Medicine 2022 Apr 14;386(15):1432-1442.
Al-Samkari H, Kasthuri RS, Parambil JG, Albitar HA, Almodallal YA, V?zquez C, Serra MM, Dupuis-Girod S, Wilsen CB, McWilliams JP, Fountain EH, Gossage JR, Weiss CR, Latif MA, Issachar A, Mei-Zahav M, Meek ME, Conrad M, Rodriguez-Lopez J, Kuter DJ, Iyer VN. An international, multicenter study of intravenous bevacizumab for bleeding in hereditary hemorrhagic telangiectasia: the InHIBIT-Bleed study. Haematologica 2021 Aug 1;106(8):2161-2169.
Al-Samkari H, Gupta S, Karp Leaf R, Wang W, Rosovsky RP, Brenner SK, Hayek SS, Berlin H, Kapoor R, Shaefi S, Melamed ML, Sutherland A, Radbel J, Green A, Garibaldi BT, Srivastava A, Leonberg-Yoo A, Shehata AM, Flythe JE, Rashidi A, Goyal N, Chan L, Mathews KS, Hedayati SS, Dy R, Toth-Manikowski SM, Zhang J, Mallappallil M, Redfern RE, Bansal AD, Short SA, Vangel MG, Admon AJ, Semler MW, Bauer KA, Hern?n MA, Leaf DE; STOP-COVID Investigators. Thrombosis, Bleeding, and the Observational Effect of Early Therapeutic Anticoagulation on Survival in Critically Ill Patients With COVID-19. Annals of Internal Medicine 2021 May;174(5):622-632.
Al-Samkari H, Karp Leaf RS, Dzik WH, Carlson JC, Fogerty AE, Waheed A, Goodarzi K, Bendapudi P, Bornikova L, Gupta S, Leaf D, Kuter DJ, Rosovsky RP. COVID-19 and Coagulation: Bleeding and Thrombotic Manifestations of SARS-CoV2 Infection. Blood 2020 Jul 23;136(4):489-500.
Al-Samkari H. Hereditary Hemorrhagic Telangiectasia: Systemic Therapies, Guidelines, and an Evolving Standard of Care. Blood 2021 Feb 18;137(7):888-895.
Al-Samkari H, Kolb-Sielecki J, Safina SZ, Xue X, Jamieson BD. Avatrombopag for chemotherapy-induced thrombocytopenia in patients with non-haematological malignancies: an international, randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled, phase 3 trial. The Lancet Haematology 2022 Mar;9(3):e179-e189.
Parambil JG, Gossage JR, McCrae KR, Woodard TD, Menon KVN, Timmerman KL, Pederson DP, Sprecher DL, Al-Samkari H. Pazopanib for severe bleeding and transfusion-dependent anemia in hereditary hemorrhagic telangiectasia. Angiogenesis 2022 Feb;25(1):87-97.
Ayad N, Grace RF, Kuter DJ, Al-Samkari H. Long-Term Risk of Developing Immune Thrombocytopenia and Hematologic Neoplasia in Adults with Mild Thrombocytopenia. Blood 2022 Dec 29;140(26)2849-2852.
Complete List of Publications on PubMed: Click Here