News

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…

Pharmaceutical industry leader Jeremy Levin believes his company is on the cusp of winning approval for the first medicine that treats the underlying cause of Angelman syndrome. Levin is CEO of New York-based Ovid Therapeutics, a publicly traded company that’s poured a good chunk of its resources into…

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…

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has given fast track designation to GeneTx Biotherapeutics and Ultragenyx‘s investigational therapy GTX-102 for Angelman syndrome. Fast track is given to speed the development and review of a treatment, facilitating discussions with the…

The National Organization for Rare Disorders (NORD) has opened a financial assistance program for people in rare disease community who are affected by the COVID-19 pandemic in the U.S. Called the NORD COVID-19 Critical Relief Program, the effort will provide up to $1,000 annually to those eligible to…

A new rat model of Angelman syndrome (AS) involves complete deletion of the maternal UBE3A gene, which causes multiple behavioral and neurological abnormalities. This model could be useful for better understanding AS and for testing new therapies. The study, “Translational outcomes in a full gene deletion of…

Amicus Therapeutics has officially opened its Global Research and Gene Therapy Center of Excellence to advance the company’s gene therapy programs for rare diseases such as Angelman syndrome. Located in Philadelphia, the 75,000-square-foot research facility consists of offices and state-of-the-art laboratories. An invitation-only ribbon event in early…