A soon-to-be-released documentary film aims to change the conversation around hemophilia, a condition in which many female patients go misdiagnosed for years and often feel ignored or overlooked by healthcare providers.
Sanofi provided financial support for the film, which was produced by patient engagement agency Believe Limited. The French drugmaker sells several treatments for the bleeding disorder, including Qfitlia, Altuviiio, Alprolix and Eloctate.
“Dismissed” is slated to premiere on Aug. 22 at the National Bleeding Disorders Foundation’s (NBDF’s) Bleeding Disorders Conference in Colorado.
The film follows four women diagnosed with hemophilia—a 15-year-old patient advocate, a mother-to-be looking for a clear treatment plan, a woman left paralyzed by a preventable complication and the chief operating officer of the NBDF—as well as a mother of two sons with the disease who begins to suspect her own longtime symptoms might be due to undiagnosed hemophilia.
The documentary catalogues the women’s struggles with misdiagnoses, lack of treatment plans and the feeling of being dismissed by doctors, as well as their efforts to care for family members with the disease and advocate for the broader hemophilia community.
Hemophilia is typically associated with men, and many people mistakenly believe that women can only be benign carriers of the disease—a common misconception about X-linked disorders that Sanofi is also working to correct.
According to statistics cited by the film’s makers, 80% of hemophilia clinical trials recruit only men. Nearly 60% of healthcare providers have reported diagnostic delays for women with hemophilia, with Black women often experiencing even more significant delays due to systemic and racial biases in the healthcare system.
The film’s website offers several resources for viewers who want to further support the hemophilia community, including downloadable social media assets to spread the word about the documentary; a “screening toolkit” of educational information, activity ideas and tips for empowering women in conversations with their doctors; and a link to “be part of the solution” by locating nearby clinical trials.
“The women in this film have been dismissed time and time again, and their stories demand attention,” Bella Gadsby, the film’s director, said in a statement. “Working at Believe Limited, I’ve witnessed firsthand the impact of advocacy and the power of storytelling in shifting perspectives. This film is not just about hemophilia; it’s about the systemic silencing of women and the urgent need to change the narrative. ‘Dismissed’ is not just a documentary, it’s a declaration.”
This isn’t the first time Sanofi has sponsored a film spotlighting the experiences of people with bleeding disorders: In 2020, the Big Pharma lent its financial support to another Believe Limited production, “Let’s Talk,” which homed in on the mental health aspect of life with hemophilia and other bleeding disorders.
Elsewhere, in 2023, the company released the results of a survey it began shortly after Altuviiio’s FDA approval, highlighting hemophilia patients’ unmet needs and hopes for future treatments.