Avalglucosidase alfa, an investigational next-generation enzyme replacement therapy (ERT), leads to clinically meaningful improvements in respiratory muscle strength and mobility in children and adults with late-onset Pompe disease (LOPD), according to top-line data from a Phase 3 trial. The findings will be the foundation for applications that…
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The Black Women’s Health Imperative (BWHI) recently created a Rare Disease Diversity Coalition focused on reducing racial disparities in the rare disease community. Getting a timely and accurate diagnosis for a disease that few people — sometimes even physicians — have heard of is challenging on its own merit.
While the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic won’t have much of an impact on cash available for new biotech startups, it has begun to cause delays in the development of gene therapies to treat a variety of rare diseases. That’s the consensus of industry experts who spoke in a May 26 webinar…
When administered early and above its recommended dose, Myozyme (alglucosidase alfa, known as Lumizyme in the U.S.) may improve the clinical outcomes and prognosis of people with infantile-onset Pompe disease (IOPD), a study reports. Safety with a higher dose did not seem to be a concern, the…
European authorities must step up efforts to screen babies for a multitude of genetic disorders, a panel of experts suggested during a May 14-15 online medical conference. The session was part of the 10th European Conference on Rare Diseases & Orphan Products (ECRD2020) — which was to have occurred…
Dara Riva always had a rule that her 10-year-old son could play video games only once a week. But then the COVID-19 pandemic struck, and her perspective changed. Riva’s son, Maximilian, has cystic fibrosis (CF), making him particularly susceptible to COVID-19 and the complications that can arise from it.
A moss-derived type of enzyme replacement therapy (ERT) for Pompe disease may be more effective than the currently approved ERT in targeting muscle cells, according to a small study. Since the study focused on muscle cells grown in the lab, further research in a whole organism, such as a…
Eurordis, a Paris-based coalition of national rare disease associations across Europe, hosted its first all-virtual conference, bringing some 1,500 delegates from 57 countries together online during the COVID-19 pandemic. The 10th European Conference on Rare Diseases & Orphan Products (ECRD2020) — which was set for May 14–15 in…
Urinary levels of a proposed Pompe disease biomarker known as Glc4 are higher in patients with either infantile-onset or late-onset forms of this disorder compared to healthy individuals in the Turkish population, a study shows. As Glc4 (or glucose tetrasaccharide) levels vary with age, identifying appropriate reference…
The Rare Diseases Clinical Research Network (RDCRN) has opened an online survey to better understand how the COVID-19 outbreak is affecting people with rare diseases, their families, and caregivers. Survey questions cover a patient’s physical and mental health, supply of treatments, and access to healthcare, among other…