More than 600 people participated in the 10th annual Rare Disease Week on Capitol Hill 2021, held virtually July 14–22, to advocate for the rare disease community. Hosted by the EveryLife Foundation’s Rare Disease Legislative Advocates (RDLA) program, the event brings together community members from across the U.S. to…
News
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has granted both orphan drug and rare pediatric disease designations to LX1004, an investigational gene therapy for CLN2 disease, also known as late infantile Batten disease. “Both designations granted to LX1004 underscore the critical importance and urgency to advance new treatment approaches…
The National Organization for Rare Disorders (NORD) is applauding the Biden administration for announcing a rule to protect consumers from surprise medical billing, in a joint statement with 26 other U.S. patient organizations. The interim final rule will implement patient protections required by the No Surprises Act. Surprise…
Animal models predicted dosing of the enzyme replacement therapy Brineura (cerliponase alfa) for patients with late infantile Batten disease, also called CLN2 disease, a study showed. Scientists said this approach also may be applied to predict cross-species dosing for other similar medicines. “Overall, the approach described here provides…
A new eye exam proved useful for testing vision in children with CLN2 disease — also known as late-infantile Batten disease — who took part in a pilot study, its developer, Objective Acuity (OAL), announced. Called threshold visual acuity test, the exam appears to be promising for…
AllianceRx Walgreens Prime, a specialty and home delivery pharmacy, is partnering with TailorMed, a healthcare technology company, to help lower out-of-pocket prescription costs for specialty pharmacy patients. Medications attained through specialty pharmacies are those used to treat rare and chronic conditions in the U.S., and are often extremely costly. For…
Nominations are now open for the worldwide 2022 Black Pearl Awards from Eurordis-Rare Diseases Europe. The 12 award categories recognize individual advocates, policy makers, researchers, organizations, and companies who work to make a difference for the global rare disease community. The deadline for nominations is Sept. 10…
Care Beyond Diagnosis is a small nonprofit run by a team of three, but it is taking on a large task for the rarest of rare diseases by focusing on clinical guidelines that make it easier for doctors to treat patients with these disorders. In April, it released…
At its first virtual investor event, biotech company Centogene set a bold mission: to cure 100 rare diseases within the next decade. A leader in the field of genetic diagnostics, Centogene used the June 22 event to present its strategic priorities, outlining its plans to speed the discovery…
The European Medicines Agency (EMA) designated Neurogene’s gene therapy candidate for CLN5, a form of late-infantile Batten disease, an orphan drug as a potential treatment of the disorder. “This regulatory designation is an important milestone toward addressing the urgent, unmet need of families and patients living with CLN5, and…
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