News

The first wave of COVID-19 in Europe severely disrupted access to care and raised stress and anxiety in people with rare diseases, negatively affecting their health and well-being, according to a survey conducted by Eurordis-Rare Diseases Europe. “People living with rare diseases in Europe have found themselves caught as collateral…

With data now reaching up to 3.5 years, benefits are continuing to be reported with the use of AVR-RD-01, Avrobio‘s experimental gene therapy for Fabry disease, in Phase 1 and 2 clinical trials, the company announced. Avrobio plan to meet with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to…

Leaders in the U.S. rare disease community came together recently for a webinar to present helpful information on how to start a nonprofit and patient registry. They shared about how their respective organizations came to be, as well as the benefits of creating patient registries and how they can help…

A genetic screening study found a higher-than-expected prevalence of undiagnosed Fabry disease in people who had kidney failure and transplant without a known cause. When the screening was extended to related family members, additional unidentified cases were found and treated early.  The findings led…

Physicians should consider Fabry disease when trying to determine the cause of recurrent episodes of fever in a patient that have no known or readily identifiable source, a case report highlighted. The study, “Recurrent fever of unknown origin: An overlooked symptom of Fabry disease,” was published in…

The National Organization for Rare Disorders (NORD)’s RareLaunch training program will host two days of free virtual workshops in December, with the aim of empowering leaders to start non-profit organizations and research programs to help people with rare diseases.  “The RareLaunch program is…

The European Commission has granted orphan drug designation to Avrobio’s investigational gene therapy AVR-RD-01 for the treatment of Fabry disease. The decision, based on a positive opinion from the Committee for Orphan Medicinal Products of the European Medicines Agency, will provide regulatory and financial incentives for…

A photo of a bespectacled young boy, his red baseball cap slightly askew as he  enjoys time outside, will be featured on the front cover of an upcoming calendar in the “Same But Different” contest to raise awareness about rare disorders. “A Lovely Day Out in Kew Gardens,”…

Chiesi Global Rare Diseases has launched a campaign called “Rethink Fabry” that seeks to help people with the rare genetic disorder, along with their caregivers and family members, to make informed healthcare decisions. The Italian pharmaceutical’s “disease education program,” currently intended for U.S. residents only, also includes new…

A majority of rare disease patients using telehealth during the COVID-19 pandemic thought the experience positive, and many would like the option of continuing its use in future appointments, a series of surveys found. The surveys were conducted by the National Organization for Rare Disorders (NORD) and involved more than 800…