News

Rarebase Launches Collaborative Platform to Find New Therapies

Rarebase, a public benefit biotechnology company, has launched the Function therapeutic discovery platform specifically for rare neurological diseases, including Batten disease. Led by scientists, engineers, patients, and advocates, Function combines large-scale therapeutic screening with genetic screens, all conducted in nerve cells (neurons) grown in a dish. The combination…

International Experts Develop Guidelines for CLN1 Management

An international team of experts has developed a set of consensus-based, family-informed recommendations for the diagnosis and best care management of neuronal ceroid lipofuscinosis type 1 (CLN1) disease. The guidelines were outlined in a report, “Management of CLN1 Disease: International Clinical Consensus,” published in the journal…

2 Scientists in Australia Awarded 2021 Batten Research Grants

Winners of the Australia and New Zealand Batten Disease Research Grant for 2021 have been announced by the Batten Disease Support and Research Association (BDSRA) Australia, the program’s sponsor. They are Anthony White, PhD, an associate professor and principal research fellow at QIMR Berghofer Medical Research Institute in Brisbane, Australia, and Anthony…

Cancer Therapy Tamoxifen May Hold Promise for 2 Batten Types

A screening of U.S.-approved therapies revealed that tamoxifen, an oral cancer therapy, is able to effectively reduce the accumulation of a fatty molecule called globotriaosylceramide, or Gb3, in cellular models of two forms of Batten disease. It worked without compromising cell survival, a study showed. That study found that…

CLN5 Gene Therapy Trial to Start Early Next Year in Rochester

Enrollment in a clinical trial testing NGN-101 — an experimental gene therapy for CLN5, a type of late-infantile Batten disease — is expected to start early next year at the University of Rochester Medical Center (URMC). “This trial will move research forward in developing a potentially disease-modifying treatment for…

Rare Disease Groups in US Join in Plea for Care Across State Lines

Over 230 national organizations signed a letter urging all 50 U.S. state governors to “maintain and expand” flexibility with licensure requirements for the duration of the COVID-19 pandemic to ease access to care. During the pandemic, governors used emergency authority to waive certain state licensure requirements, giving healthcare providers…

Gene Therapy for CLN2, LX1004, Supported by $100M in Financing

Lexeo Therapeutics announced that it raised $100 million in a financing round to help support the development of pipeline therapies, including LX1004, a potential gene therapy for CLN2 disease, also known as late infantile Batten disease. Other potential treatments supported through this Series B financing include LX2006, a gene therapy for…