COLUMBIA, SC (WOLO) — A Summerville man became the first person in South Carolina to undergo potentially life-changing gene therapy. The treatment took place Thursday morning at Prisma Health’s Hemophilia Treatment Center in Columbia. Thirty-eight-year-old Brent Maloy was diagnosed with the rare bleeding disorder Hemophilia B as a baby — a condition that’s negatively affected him his entire life. “It’s been just a constant thing I had to deal with,” he says. The genetic condition means Brent is missing crucial proteins that helps the blood to clot, (sometimes referred to as Factor Nine proteins) causing normal activities to become potentially dangerous. Dr. Stephanie Ambrose says for most patients that means constantly hooking themselves up to an IV at home. “They typically are having to infuse themselves sometimes all the way up to several times a week to several times a month. And they are prone to having significant issues with bleeding, joint bleeds, muscle bleeds, nose bleeds, things of that nature,” she says. But those at-home intravenous treatments may soon end for Brent. He’s being given a medicine that’s only been on the market for two years now, known as Hemgenix. Total cost of Hemgenix before insurance is $3.5 million. If successful, Dr. Ambrose and Nurse Robin Jones say the “one and done” treatment will raise the needed Factor Nine proteins in Brent’s liver, allowing his blood to clot naturally throughout his body. The best part? The effects may last for the rest of Brent’s life. “As for changing my life, if everything works well, it means I can finally live my life like a normal person and not have to take any more injections, unless I have to get vaccines!” he jokes. Dr. Ambrose says those at-home IV treatments add up to hundreds of thousands of dollars, making the hefty price tag of Hemgenix cheaper over a lifetime. For the next few years, Brent will be closely monitored to determine how successful the treatment is. “So our hope for this therapy is if we can get his Factor Nine levels to a more sustainable level, to where he’s not having to give himself IV medications, then day to day life will look much better. He’ll be much better protected against bleeding episodes, and for many patients their quality of life will improve because they can be much more active than they’ve been in the past,” says Dr. Ambrose. Prisma Health’s Hemophilia Treatment Center is the only center in the state that is currently federally approved to offer Hemgenix. Categories: Local News, News Tags: Brent Maloy, Dr. Stephanie Ambrose, Hemgenix, hemophilia, Prisma Health