Steve Bryson, PhD,  science writer—

Utreloxastat (PTC857), an investigational therapy for people with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), was safe, well tolerated, and displayed promising pharmacological properties in healthy people, according to a first-in-human Phase 1 study. Based on these findings, the therapy’s developer, PTC Therapeutics, has launched a Phase 2 trial (NCT05349721)…

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has announced an advisory committee meeting seeking advice on whether to approve Biogen‘s investigational therapy tofersen for the treatment of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) caused by SOD1 gene mutations. The public meeting, to be held online March 22, by…

EpiSwitch, a non-invasive, blood-based test developed by Oxford BioDynamics, successfully stratified patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) as fast versus slow progressors, according to an interim analysis of the REFINE-ALS study. These findings highlight the potential of the biomarker test to better classify disease progression in ALS patients…

An experimental antisense oligonucleotide that works to suppress the mutant C9orf72 gene — a cause of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) — safely lowered the production of damaging proteins and other molecules in a patient in a pilot trial. “While other teams have documented that this gene can be suppressed in cells…

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) can be grouped into four disease subtypes based on patterns of changes in electrical signals in the brain, researchers have discovered. These findings may be valuable to predict future disability and life expectancy, and may help select the patients more likely to benefit in certain…

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has accepted for review Amylyx Pharmaceuticals‘ application seeking approval of AMX0035 for the treatment of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). The new drug application (NDA) also was granted priority review by the regulatory agency, which reduces review time from the standard…

A combined gene therapy that delivered two nerve growth factors — NRG1-I and NRG1-III — to muscle and nerve cells improved motor function and delayed disease onset in a mouse model of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), a study demonstrated. However, the combo therapy did not show a synergistic effect,…

The loss of chemical modifications in the regulatory sequence of the TARDBP gene, called DNA methylation, seems to contribute to increased levels and clumping of the TDP-43 protein in the motor cortex of people with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), a study found. As methylation in this gene — which…

A small open-label study evaluating the epilepsy medication perampanel in adults with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) was halted due to adverse events that affected behavior. Despite the findings, larger clinical trials investigating perampanel in ALS patients are ongoing, which might determine if the medication contributed to behavioral side effects. The…

CNM-Au8, an investigational disease-modifying therapy for people with early amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), failed to prevent motor neurons loss and lung function decline relative to a placebo, according to top-line data from the RESCUE-ALS Phase 2 clinical trial. The trial, in other words, did not meet its primary…