Pfizer's Kevin Williams to Pen Health Column on Sickle Cell Disease for the Black Press

Dr. Kevin Williams, the Chief Medical Officer, for Pfizer’s rare disease unit, plans to help educate the masses about sickle cell disease (SCD) in a new column for the National Newspaper Publishers Association (NNPA). Earlier this year, Pfizer Inc. and the NNPA, a trade association of more than 200 African American-owned media companies in the United States, announced a collaboration to raise awareness of SCD, a lifelong and debilitating genetic disorder that affects red blood cells. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, SCD occurs in 1 out of every 365 Black or African-American births. Williams said that the column is a part of the collaboration between Pfizer and the NNPA to raise awareness about SCD and the importance of clinical trial participation in the process for developing new medications. “We’ll be covering a number of topics including tips for living with sickle cell disease, common myths about the disease, and how to support a friend or family member with the disease”, said Williams.