Rare Disease Month Q & A with Nora Boyer, Ph.D., MSN, FNP-C

Please briefly describe your role in the MPN community.

Nora Boyer, Ph.D., MSN, FNP-C, serves as Vice President, Medical Affairs of Protagonist Therapeutics, Inc.

In your opinion, what is the significance of Rare Disease Month/Day pertaining to MPNs?

Protagonist Therapeutics is excited to highlight polycythemia vera (PV) during Rare Disease Awareness Month, as this is a chronic blood cancer that is often overlooked, not garnering the attention that more common or aggressive cancers receive. Data suggests that patients with PV are often undertreated, and markers of disease severity, such as elevated hematocrit, are not optimally tracked or appropriately treated. Patients with this disease may suffer for decades with symptoms that greatly reduce their quality of life and put them at a higher risk for potentially deadly complications such as thromboses. The goal of our development program in PV is to improve how patients feel and ultimately delay or prevent disease progression. We are proud to bring awareness to and provide hope to patients suffering from this devastating disease.

-Nora Boyer, Ph.D., MSN, FNP-C