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Ask Dr. Kevin: Clinical Trials are the Foundation for Scientific Innovation

NNPA NEWSWIRE — As you may have heard, my team at Pfizer recently experienced a significant disappointment. Our phase 3 trial for rivipansel, a potential treatment for the debilitating vaso-occlusive crises (VOCs) endured by virtually every person with sickle cell disease (SCD), did not meet its study endpoints. Both professionally and personally, this news was hard to hear, especially knowing that people with SCD have such limited treatment options available to them. However, even though the study didn’t turn out as we had hoped, the good news is that the rivipansel program greatly advanced our understanding of SCD and VOCs, which will be important for future SCD research programs and drug development.

Published

7 years ago

December 12, 2019

Oakland Post

By Dr. Kevin Williams, Chief Medical Officer for Rare Disease at Pfizer

The “Ask Dr. Kevin” series is brought to you by Pfizer Rare Disease in collaboration with the National Newspaper Publishers Association (NNPA) to increase understanding of sickle cell disease.

Dr. Kevin Williams is the Chief Medical Officer for Rare Disease at Pfizer where he leads a Medical Affairs organization of approximately 150 medical colleagues around the globe. He pursued medicine after being inspired by his father’s work as a general practitioner in his hometown of Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Dr. Kevin is passionate about raising awareness and increasing understanding of rare diseases, such as sickle cell disease, in the African American community.

As you may have heard, my team at Pfizer recently experienced a significant disappointment. Our phase 3 trial for rivipansel, a potential treatment for the debilitating vaso-occlusive crises (VOCs) endured by virtually every person with sickle cell disease (SCD), did not meet its study endpoints. Both professionally and personally, this news was hard to hear, especially knowing that people with SCD have such limited treatment options available to them. However, even though the study didn’t turn out as we had hoped, the good news is that the rivipansel program greatly advanced our understanding of SCD and VOCs, which will be important for future SCD research programs and drug development.

As I’ve written about before, SCD is the most common inherited blood disorder, and it disproportionately affects people of African descent[i]. VOCs, one of the most common complications of SCD, are marked by extreme pain resulting from sickle-shaped red blood cells clumping together in the bloodstream[ii]. The standard of care for patients experiencing these pain crises has remained largely unchanged since the first report of SCD in 1910, and is restricted mostly to treating disease symptoms, like the use of opioids for pain management. Just last month, Novartis was granted FDA approval for a treatment to reduce the frequency of VOCs experienced by patients; however, there still stands a greater need for therapies that target the root cause of these painful episodes.

The clinical trial for rivipansel may have come to an end; however, the one thing that working in SCD and collaborating with the NNPA and SCD-focused patient groups over the last several years has taught me is that this community is strong. Their strength inspires me and my team every day and fuels our passion for our work in advancing the scientific research of rare diseases like SCD.

In this article, I’d like to share a little more about the importance of innovation in rare diseases and answer some common questions about the role clinical trials play as the foundation for moving medical innovation forward.

Why are clinical trials important?

Cutting-edge research and clinical trials are key to making an impact for patients and are essential to the development of new treatments. These studies also deepen our understanding of diseases, especially rare diseases, such as SCD, where few advances have been made. For rare diseases in particular, only 5% of diseases have an FDA-approved treatment[iii], so there is a lot of work to be done in this area.

At their core, clinical trials are designed to produce high-quality data that will translate into a better understanding of the treatments that work best for certain diseases and people. Given their crucial role in medical science, clinical trials are highly regulated and conducted using high-quality scientific and ethical standards to ensure the safety of participating patients.

Are there potential challenges associated with clinical trials?

The biggest challenge is that a clinical trial may fail, even after decades of research aimed at uncovering a treatment breakthrough. While no one likes to hear a clinical trial didn’t meet its goals, especially people in need of new treatment options, researchers are unfortunately unable to anticipate the end results of these studies in advance.

However, even though we can’t be sure of the results, it’s still critical for this research to happen to bring new treatment advances to those in need. Did you know that for every approved medicine, there are countless others that don’t pass through the grueling clinical trial and regulatory processes? A recent report found that the likelihood of drugs moving from clinical phase to approval is only 9.6%[iv]. Moreover, even if an investigational therapy is backed by promising data, it can take around 12 years or longer for it to gain approval.

Another challenge can be enrollment of volunteers to participate in clinical trials. Historically, recruitment obstacles have been a barrier in SCD research. However, a poll conducted, as a part of Pfizer and the NNPA’s collaboration, found that a majority of respondents had positive or neutral attitudes toward SCD clinical trials, and furthermore, they indicated a willingness to participate in them if provided the appropriate information. These results are encouraging and suggest people are becoming more inclined to participate in clinical trials for hard-to-treat diseases like SCD.

What have you learned about clinical trials during your time at Pfizer?

Pfizer strives to accelerate the development and delivery of groundbreaking medicines and the dedication, talent and resources that support our clinical trials can’t be captured in a few words. However, as I’ve said earlier, advancing research and conducting clinical trials comes with the unfortunate reality of not always being successful.

The news that our trial for rivipansel didn’t achieve its goals was disappointing, especially for the SCD community who is eagerly awaiting new therapies for VOCs. That said, we are channeling this loss into renewed energy and making it our purpose to learn from it. We are in the process of reviewing the trial data closely to ensure our findings can help inform and shape future SCD programs.

Regardless of the outcomes, I want to stress again that more trials in the rare disease space, particularly for SCD, are desperately needed. I am confident in saying our steadfast commitment to this community will continue, as we work tirelessly to look for new ways to continue advancing care.

About Dr. Kevin Williams

Dr. Kevin Williams is the Chief Medical Officer (CMO) for Pfizer Rare Disease. In this role, he leads a Medical Affairs organization of approximately 150 medical colleagues around the globe supporting Pfizer’s efforts and portfolio in Rare Disease. Dr. Kevin joined Pfizer in January 2004 as a Director of Regional Medical & Research Specialist working in the HIV disease area. After moving into a Team Leader position in July 2005, he served in various leadership roles during his career at Pfizer. Dr. Kevin moved into his current Rare Disease CMO position in May 2016.

Dr. Kevin received his medical degree from the UCLA School of Medicine and is board certified in Internal Medicine. Following a 2-year fellowship in Health Services Research at UCLA and a brief academic career as an Instructor of Medicine at the UCLA School of Medicine, he spent 8 years in private practice caring for HIV-positive patients while maintaining an academic appointment at the UCLA School of Medicine as an Assistant Clinical Professor of Medicine. In addition to his medical degree, Dr. Kevin has a Master’s in Public Health from the UCLA School of Public Health and a Juris Doctorate from Harvard Law School.

Keep up to date on Pfizer’s Rare Disease efforts by visiting our page here. You can also follow Pfizer on Facebook and Twitter.

[i] Serjeant GR. One hundred years of sickle cell disease. Br J Haematol. 2010;151(5):425-429.

[ii] American Family Physician. “Approach to the Vaso-occlusive Crisis in Adults with Sickle Cell Disease.” https://www.aafp.org/afp/2000/0301/p1349.html.

[iii] Global Genes. “Rare Disease: Facts and Statistics.” https://globalgenes.org/rare-diseases-facts-statistics/

[iv] Biotechnology Innovation Organization (BIO). “Clinical Development Success Rates 2006-2015.” https://www.bio.org/sites/default/files/Clinical%20Development%20Success%20Rates%202006-2015%20-%20BIO,%20Biomedtracker,%20Amplion%202016.pdf.

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COMMENTARY: Jim Crow 2.0 at the Pentagon

BLACKPRESSUSA NEWSWIRE — The American people are expected to believe that one extraordinary officer after another suddenly fails to meet some undefined standard of excellence. We are expected to ignore impeccable service records while accepting that political appointees alone possess the wisdom to determine who is worthy of advancement.

Published

3 weeks ago

August 3, 2026

bpusa-syndication

Pete Hegseth insists that he is restoring “merit” to the United States military. But after months of dismissals, blocked promotions, and ideological purges, the evidence tells a different story. His campaign against so-called “diversity, equity, and inclusion” has become something far more dangerous: an assault on equal opportunity that falls with particular force on African Americans, while also targeting women, Latinos, gay Americans, and transgender service members.

The latest example is both troubling and infuriating.

Once again, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has reportedly blocked the promotion of an exceptionally qualified woman—Rear Admiral Amy Bauernschmidt. Bauernschmidt is no ordinary officer. She became the Navy’s first woman to command a nuclear-powered aircraft carrier, one of the most demanding leadership assignments in the world. Her career reflects decades of exemplary performance, operational excellence, and leadership under extraordinary pressure.

Yet once again, a distinguished military career appears to have been subordinated to an ideological agenda masquerading as “merit.”

I call BS!

The American people are expected to believe that one extraordinary officer after another suddenly fails to meet some undefined standard of excellence. We are expected to ignore impeccable service records while accepting that political appointees alone possess the wisdom to determine who is worthy of advancement.

The pattern has become impossible to ignore.

General Charles Q. Brown Jr., only the second African American to serve as Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, was dismissed despite a career that placed him among the most accomplished military leaders of his generation.

Admiral Lisa Franchetti, the first woman ever to serve as Chief of Naval Operations, was removed despite decades of distinguished command experience.

Reports have documented interventions that blocked or delayed the promotions of Black officers and women selected through the military’s rigorous promotion system.

Now Rear Admiral Amy Bauernschmidt joins the growing list of highly accomplished officers whose careers have been derailed for reasons that have never been persuasively explained.

Where is Congress?

Its silence has become deafening.

Congress has an independent constitutional responsibility to oversee the armed forces. Instead, too many lawmakers have watched silently while one of the nation’s most respected institutions is subjected to ideological litmus tests and political interference.

This is not military reform. It is testosterone-fueled performative masculinity disguised as a philosophy of military excellence.

The irony is impossible to miss. Hegseth repeatedly invokes “merit,” yet his rhetoric begins with the assumption that Black officers, women, and other historically excluded Americans must somehow justify their achievements in ways that white male officers are rarely required to do.

That is not meritocracy. It is prejudice wrapped in patriotic language.

No one is asking that anyone be promoted because of race or gender. Americans simply expect that promotions be based on demonstrated competence, leadership, integrity, and service. The officers being targeted have already proven themselves repeatedly under one of the world’s most demanding evaluation systems.

Their records speak for themselves.

The attack on African American military leadership has been especially pernicious.

For generations, Black Americans fought in segregated units, earned decorations while denied equal treatment, and repeatedly demonstrated loyalty to a nation that often failed to extend them full citizenship. They broke barriers not because standards were lowered but because excellence finally overcame institutional discrimination.

Today’s campaign against “diversity” threatens to revive old assumptions under new slogans.

The implication that Black generals and admirals somehow owe their success to affirmative action rather than extraordinary performance echoes some of the ugliest stereotypes of the Jim Crow era. Yesterday’s segregationists claimed Black Americans were inherently less qualified. Today’s culture warriors simply employ more politically acceptable language while inviting the same suspicion about Black achievement.

That is why Hegseth’s campaign increasingly resembles Jim Crow 2.0.

The targets may now wear stars on their shoulders instead of military patches on segregated uniforms, but the underlying message is hauntingly familiar: Black excellence is presumed suspect, while white excellence is presumed earned.

America’s military became the finest fighting force in history because it opened its doors to talent wherever it could be found. It grew stronger after President Truman desegregated the armed forces. It became stronger when women assumed greater command responsibilities. It became stronger when every qualified American was given the opportunity to serve to the fullest extent of their abilities.

Diversity is not a concession. It is a strategic advantage.

The nation’s adversaries do not fear an American military because it is racially homogeneous. They fear it because it draws upon the talents of more than 340 million Americans whose diverse experiences, perspectives, and abilities make our armed forces unmatched anywhere in the world.

Every politically motivated dismissal of a distinguished officer sends a chilling message throughout the ranks: excellence alone may no longer be enough if you belong to the wrong demographic group.

That weakens morale. It weakens recruitment. It weakens retention.

And ultimately, it weakens national security.

Pete Hegseth has every right to pursue military readiness. He has no right to redefine merit in ways that repeatedly cast suspicion upon the accomplishments of Black officers, women, and others who have devoted their lives to defending this nation.

America deserves better. The men and women who wear the uniform deserve better. The Constitution deserves better.

And unless Congress finds the courage to exercise meaningful oversight, history may well remember this period not as a restoration of military excellence, but as the moment political ideology attempted to resurrect, in modern form, the old poison of exclusion.

Jim Crow did not strengthen America. Jim Crow 2.0 will not strengthen America’s military. It will only diminish it

Wade Henderson
Strategic Advisor
Civil and Human Rights
wade@wadejhenderson.com

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New Judge Could Decide if Karmelo Anthony Gets a New Trial

By Emilie St. John (Contributor) Karmelo Anthony will return to court next month in his first step to overturn his murder conviction. Anthony was found guilty last month in the stabbing death of Austin Metcalf and sentenced to 35 years in prison. His new legal team has filed motions seeking the recusal of State District […]
The post New Judge Could Decide if Karmelo Anthony Gets a New Trial appeared first on BlackPressUSA.

Published

3 weeks ago

July 31, 2026

Oakland Post

By Emilie St. John
(Contributor)

Karmelo Anthony will return to court next month in his first step to overturn his murder conviction.

Anthony was found guilty last month in the stabbing death of Austin Metcalf and sentenced to 35 years in prison. His new legal team has filed motions seeking the recusal of State District Judge John Roach Jr. from overseeing the appeals process.

Two hearings have been scheduled on the motion for Aug. 9 and 10 in the Collin County Courthouse in McKinney, Texas, according to Fox4 News.

On July 14, Senior Judge Sid L. Harle of the 226th District Court was assigned to preside over the defense’s motion to recuse Collin County Judge John Roach. The assignment took effect immediately and authorized Harle to handle all matters related to the recusal request, the filing read.

The Collin County District Attorney’s Office continues to defend its handling of the case by issuing a statement to NBC 5 DFW.

“The defendant’s new lawyers have filed a motion containing several inaccurate characterizations of the trial proceedings. The entire prosecution team and I conducted this trial ethically and in full compliance with the Court’s rulings and any agreements with defense counsel. We look forward to addressing these claims thoroughly in a Court of law in the coming weeks. The jury heard extensive evidence over the course of the trial and returned a unanimous verdict. We remain confident in that verdict and the fairness of the proceedings.”

Anthony’s new legal team, made up of appellate, civil rights, and criminal defense attorneys, was retained following Anthony’s conviction.

“Our responsibility is to determine whether a legal error occurred and to ensure that every issue supported by the record is fully and vigorously presented on appeal,” the team said in a statement.

“We recognize the profound loss suffered by one young man’s family and the uncertainty facing another, and we extend our respect to everyone whose lives have been forever changed by these events,” the release reads.

Anthony was charged with the stabbing death of Austin Metcalf during a track meet in Frisco, Texas, April 2, 2025. Anthony has long maintained it was an act of self-defense.

The attorneys are representing Anthony pro bono. The nearly 200-page notice of appeal seeks a new trial because his Sixth Amendment right to a public trial was violated.

“The cumulative and practical effect of these provisions was to exclude members of the public from proceedings at every stage,” the filing reads.

The filing also focused on an alleged “handshake deal” that kept Anthony from taking the stand in his defense.

The defense filing said the agreement was that the jury would not hear that Metcalf and his twin brother had been accused of racism and bullying in the past. In exchange, they also would not see Anthony’s cellphone records or his school disciplinary record, according to court documents reported by the Dallas Morning News.

Anthony’s former defense attorney, Mike Howard, said the defense relied heavily on that deal. The team chose not to ask certain questions of witnesses or call on a separate expert witness based on that agreement. It also abandoned plans to introduce testimony and evidence about the allegations against Metcalf and his brother.

Appellate attorney Russell Wilson is now handling post-trial proceedings and Anthony’s appeal. He recently sat down for an interview, stating, “The court committed multiple errors during the June murder trial, preventing him from receiving a fair trial.”

“You know, we file motions that we expect to prevail on, but we understand that there’s two sides to every story. And at the end of the day, it’ll be a judge that has to make these decisions, but we feel confident in the positions that we’re taking,” Wilson said during an interview with WFAA. “There were substantial issues that we thought a reviewing court needed to look at. We thought these were constitutional irregularities, and we could have them addressed now. And so, we put them into a motion for a new trial.”

Bree West, a former Dallas County Assistant District Attorney, found it startling that so little time was given to Anthony’s team for such a serious “life or death” situation.

“I do think that it’s really challenging that potentially a court decided that you have 10 minutes to make that level of decision when it has the potential of being life-altering,” said West during an interview with Fox 4 News.

Judge Harle is no stranger to high-profile cases, having presided over the prosecution of a police officer charged in connection with the 2022 mass shooting at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde.

Anthony was convicted on June 9 of the murder of Austin Metcalf and sentenced to 35 years in prison.

The post New Judge Could Decide if Karmelo Anthony Gets a New Trial appeared first on BlackPressUSA.

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COMMENTARY: LSMFT! Lord Save Me from Trump!

WESTSIDE GAZETTE — The author criticizes Donald Trump’s rhetoric, noting his use of terms like “Dumbocrats” and “Communist” to describe Democrats and democracy. The column asserts that Trump’s current strategy involves creating doubt about midterm elections due to a lack of Republican agenda.
The post COMMENTARY: LSMFT! Lord Save Me from Trump! appeared first on BlackPressUSA.

Published

3 weeks ago

July 31, 2026

Oakland Post

Frankly Speaking

Wow! Wow! Wow! The swamp drainers have truly stepped down to new levels of stupidity. You remember Weapons of Mass Destruction? We now have Weapons of Mass Distraction. Trump has introduced Dumbocrats and Communists into the conversation about Democrats and Democracy.

Trump lies so much, and his current strategy is to set up doubt about midterm elections because he and Republicans have no agenda!

He has no “Trump “ card, but Iran has a strait! He called it a skirmish; it’s now a War. He said five days; now it’s five months. He said few casualties; now it’s 18 deaths. He knew nothing about Project 2025 but hired its architects! Trump lies about the lies and often forgets these little inventions called cameras and phones

We see and hear and then see and hear the inconsistencies.

I didn’t like 45 and dislike 47 even more!

The post LSMFT! Lord Save Me From Trump! appeared first on The Westside Gazette.

Based on reporting by Westside Gazette.

The post COMMENTARY: LSMFT! Lord Save Me from Trump! appeared first on BlackPressUSA.