Forest Ray PhD,  —

A committee with the European Medicines Agency favors designating Seelos Therapeutics‘ investigational therapy SLS-005 (trehalose) an orphan drug as a potential treatment of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), the company announced in a press release. The opinion, issued by the Committee for Orphan Medicinal Products (COMP), will now go to the…

Speech and oral therapy were added to covered services available by telemedicine for people with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), which Medicare previously recognized only as in-person visits, during the COVID-19 pandemic. Medicare will now reimburse — at least through December 2021 — evaluations and treatments given by telemedicine…

Ionis Pharmaceuticals is opening a Phase 3 safety and efficacy trial of ION363 (jacifusen) in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) patients with confirmed mutations in the FUS gene, a known cause of juvenile-onset disease. The trial (NCT04768972) will enroll up to 64 people, ranging in age from 12 to 65,…

Retrotope has dosed the first patients in its recently-initiated Phase 2 clinical trial evaluating RT001 for the treatment of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). Enrollment is open across four European sites for patients ages 20–75 whose disease symptoms began less than three years ago and do not need…

Under an agreement with the University of Kansas, PharmaTher has gained exclusive worldwide rights to develop and possibly commercialize ketamine as a therapy for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). “We are pleased to have added the [ALS] program to our already impressive development pipeline…

The small difference in treatment responses among amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) patients receiving NurOwn versus a placebo in a recent clinical trial likely was due to chance, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced in a press release. Along with slightly more deaths in the NurOwn…

PrimeC is safe and well-tolerated for the treatment of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and showed signs of slowing disease progression in patients, findings from a recently-completed Phase 2a study show. All 15 participants in the NST002 clinical trial (NCT04165850) have chosen to…

Military veterans with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) are nearly four times as likely to commit suicide as vets without the progressive neurological disease, according to a recent study. This finding suggests that the Veterans Health Administration (VHA) should increase their suicide prevention efforts among veterans with ALS. The study, “…

BrainStorm Cell Therapeutics met with U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) officials regarding its plans for a semi-automatic manufacturing process for NurOwn, the company’s investigational cell-based therapy for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). Discussion at the meeting — formally called a type C meeting — covered issues that…

Cytokinetics awarded two amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) patient advocacy organizations grants worth $20,000, in recognition of their efforts to support their disease communities through communications, awareness, and outreach. The grants, part of the Cytokinetics’ annual Communications Fellowship Grant program, aid projects that reach underserved populations, provide assistive…