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…

Clene, and its wholly owned subsidiary Clene Nanomedicine, have launched an expanded access program (EAP) in the U.S. to allow certain people with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) to gain access to its experimental oral therapy CNM-Au8. Called CNMAu8.EAP02, the program will focus on patients who are not eligible…

PathMaker Neurosystems was awarded $371,000 from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to advance its neuromodulation technology as a potential new, non-invasive treatment for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). The Small Business Technology Transfer grant, from the NIH’s National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, will enable PathMaker to…

“Fear takes control — fear of the unknown Aware of what will hurt you You’re prepared to remain this way So sad yet safe with your afflictions Afraid to start a brand new day.” Those lyrics from the song “Fear (Of the Unknown)” by British alternative band Siouxsie and…

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…

The United Kingdom-based Motor Neurone Disease (MND) Association was commended recently at the Third Sector Awards for its efforts in the MND community. The nonprofit organization won high commendations in the “Charity of the Year: Over £5M” category at the annual awards, which recognizes the achievements of charitable organizations and…

QurAlis is advancing the development of QRL-201, its “groundbreaking” lead treatment candidate for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), and expects to initiate its first clinical trial in late 2022. The stem cell technology company said it is now conducting formal preclinical studies to assess QRL-201’s therapeutic potential, and expects…

The two most common measures used in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) assessments — the ALS functional rating scale-revised (ALSFRS-R) and forced vital capacity (FVC) — can predict survival more accurately when used together, according to a recent study. Alone, these measures had a similar predictive ability, but the weak…

“Just what makes that little old ant Think he’ll move that rubber tree plant Anyone knows an ant can’t Move a rubber tree plant But he’s got high hopes …” — Frank Sinatra, “High Hopes” Recently, I watched the movie “A Hole in the Head” for the first time…

Amylyx Pharmaceuticals plans to submit a new drug application (NDA) to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in the coming months for approval of its investigational oral therapy AMX0035 for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). The decision follows recent discussions with the FDA, including a pre-NDA meeting held…