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Neurogene, a biopharmaceutical company developing therapies for Batten disease, is trying to learn more about the progression of the subtype CLN5 disease from the caregiver perspective. To that end, Neurogene is inviting the caregivers of children who are either living with CLN5, or who died within the…

More than half of the people with rare diseases and their caregivers, asked in a survey, were undecided or less than willing to be vaccinated for COVID-19 if a vaccine was approved under emergency use authorization instead of the routine process, the EveryLife Foundation for Rare Disease reports. These findings…

The EveryLife Foundation for Rare Diseases is accepting applications for a scholarship program that aims to help adults with a rare disease pursue personal goals through training and education. For a second year, the #RAREis Scholarship Fund — supported by Horizon Therapeutics – will award 35 one-time scholarships, each…

Families of a child with Batten disease in the U.K. are welcome take part in counseling and other wellness services being offered at no cost by the Maypole Project in a three-year collaboration with the Batten Disease Family Association (BDFA). Services include one-on-one therapy sessions, as well as sessions tailored to couples,…

Editor’s note: This story was updated March 30, 2021 to clarify that Neurogene is hosting videoconferences workshops for families in any country. Neurogene, which is developing treatments for Batten disease and other rare neurological disorders, is inviting families affected by CLN5, a form of late infantile…

Beyond Batten Disease Foundation (BBDF) has struck a deal with Actelion Pharmaceuticals to help further the development of BBDF-101, an investigational treatment for juvenile Batten disease. Under the terms of the new agreement, Actelion (a Janssen Pharmaceutical Company of Johnson & Johnson) will provide a component of…

Many diseases have their own awareness color — breast cancer is pink, muscular dystrophy is green, and AIDS is red, for example — but what’s the significance of pink, green, blue, and purple lights side-by-side? These are the colors most often used to represent Rare Disease Day. This…

Sanford Research scientist Kevin Francis, PhD, has received an $83,718 research grant to study CLN6 Batten disease — also known as variant late infantile CLN6 disease — and advance Anavex’s compounds to early trials. The funding was awarded by the Charlotte and Gwenyth Gray Foundation, a family…