News

The Rare Disease Diversity Coalition (RDDC) awarded $600,000 in grants to ease the disparities faced by rare disease patients of color. These Impact Rare Disease Solution grants will go five RDDC steering committee working groups, which aim to identify problems for rare disease communities and advocate for solutions. The five…

A crowdfunding campaign aims to raise $45,000 to support “Rare,” a documentary film featuring the struggles and achievements of people living with rare diseases and their families. Sweis Entertainment and Digital Cave Media launched the campaign — allowing filmmakers to finish producing and to release the documentary — on Kickstarter.

A clinical trial extension study involving 12 children with Sanfilippo syndrome type A was terminated early, after efficacy analyses found that the investigational enzyme replacement therapy it was testing failed to show evidence that it could slow the patients’ progressive cognitive or neurological impairment. After a median of 264.4 weeks…

A new U.S. initiative called Rare Disease Cures Accelerator–Data and Analytics Platform — dubbed RDCA–DAP — aims to accelerate treatment innovation across rare diseases by sharing existing patient data and promoting the standardization of new data collection. Launched during a virtual workshop in September, the U.S. Food and Drug…

Football and science seem to be disparate fields of play at first glance, but the nonprofit Uplifting Athletes is finding common ground by leveraging the popularity of college gridiron games to fund research for rare diseases. Its nearly two dozen chapters — representing college football teams across the nation…

A newly launched non-profit institute is seeking to advance research, and the development of new therapies, for people with rare diseases — a patient community with some of the largest therapeutic needs, but one that is often left behind. Named the Institute for Life Changing Medicines, the project was…

Participation in clinical trials exposes rare disease patients to financial, physical, and emotional pressures, according to the results of a patient focus group series. “Rare disease trial participants are running an endurance race they are highly motivated to complete, but these incremental burdens negatively impact their ability or willingness to…

Recent advances in treating people with Sanfilippo syndrome and other mucopolysaccharidoses (MPS) were among topics addressed at the 16th International Symposium of MPS and Related Diseases (MPS 2021). The annual event, held virtually July 23–25, was organized by MPS Spain in collaboration with different MPS societies worldwide. The…

The National Organization for Rare Disorders, known as NORD, was named an official charity partner of the 2021 TCS New York City Marathon, which will be held Nov. 7 both in-person and online. “Supporting charitable causes and organizations are a long-standing tradition of the TCS New York City…

Properties of a lubricant of the small air sacs (alveoli) that is essential for normal lung function appear to be altered in Sanfilippo syndrome type A, a study in mice reported. Changes in the mechanism and activity of this lung lubricant, known as pulmonary surfactant, “may explain the increased susceptibility of…