News

Avrobio is in the planning stages of a clinical trial to support a request for approval of AVR-RD-01 as a first-line gene therapy for people with  Fabry disease. This registration trial, which the company hopes to initiate in mid-2022 with U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) agreement, will test the gene…

Long before COVID-19 changed the world, organ transplant recipients were wearing masks to shield themselves from airborne threats. Immunosuppressive medicines, which often are a lifelong after a transplant, require these people to add an extra layer of protection against viruses as common as a cold or as dangerous as COVID. They…

CANbridge Pharmaceuticals has entered a strategic collaboration and license agreement to gain global rights to LogicBio Therapeutics’ gene therapy candidates for rare diseases with limited treatment options. Under the agreement, CANbridge now owns worldwide rights to develop, manufacture, and commercialize gene therapy candidates for Fabry disease and Pompe…

A Phase 3 trial evaluating lucerastat, an investigational substrate reduction therapy for Fabry disease, is fully enrolled and underway in 118 adult patients. Results from the MODIFY trial (NCT03425539) are expected toward the end of this year. Those who complete the trial…

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has rejected Protalix BioTherapeutics and Chiesi Global Rare Diseases’ request for accelerated approval of PRX-102 (pegunigalsidase alfa) as the first plant-based, every-other-week enzyme replacement therapy (ERT) for adults with Fabry disease. This decision was not related to any concerns with the safety or effectiveness of PRX-102 shown…

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…

A Phase 1/2 clinical trial evaluating the investigational gene therapy 4D-310, developed by 4D Molecular Therapeutics (4DMT) for people with Fabry disease, has dosed its first patient. The trial (NCT04519749) is currently enrolling men with Fabry at four sites across the U.S. These study locations are the Children’s…

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…

Activities ranging from sharing educational posters to “breaking a sweat” are underway to mark Fabry Disease Awareness Month, set aside each April to call attention to this rare genetic disorder. Awareness and education are crucial to increasing the recognition, diagnosis, understanding, and management of Fabry disease, estimated to affect about…

As anyone affected by a rare disease knows, treating the illness while trying to go about everyday life is an expensive undertaking.  But exactly how expensive — in terms of direct and indirect costs across rare disease populations — might still come as a surprise: almost…