News

Children’s National Health System no longer treats just kids. Its Rare Disease Institute, launched in April 2017, has partnered with the National Organization for Rare Disorders (NORD) to become the first of many U.S. “centers of excellence” to look after patients with rare diseases, regardless of age. The effort…

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has granted Breakthrough Therapy Designation to BioMarin Pharmaceutical’s investigative therapy, valoctocogene roxaparvovec to treat patients with hemophilia A. This new status is likely to speed up the development and regulatory review of valoctocogene roxaparvovec, which has already received an Orphan Drug Designation from both…

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recently granted orphan drug status to SHP654 (BAX 888), an investigational factor VIII (FVIII) gene therapy candidate being developed by Shire for the treatment of hemophilia A. Gene therapy allows the delivery of a functional copy of the defective gene.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved BioMarin Pharmaceutical‘s Investigational New Drug (IND) application for its gene therapy candidate to treat severe hemophilia A. FDA’s decision on BMN 270, also known for its generic name valoctocogene roxaparvovec,…

uniQure plans to advance its investigational gene therapy AMT-061 into a pivotal study in 2018 for patients with severe and moderately severe hemophilia B. Gene therapies are being develop to treat diseases caused by genetic mutations. It involves replacing the faulty gene in patients with a healthy gene. AMT-061…

More therapies are now available for the 30 million or so people with rare diseases in the U.S. than ever before, and millions of dollars are being invested in clinical studies that will test new ways of evaluating — and advancing — potential treatments, including the use of natural history…

Researchers have found that the high price of recombinant clotting factors for patients with hemophilia B is the main cause of the economic burden of the disease in the United States. However, despite the cost, prophylaxis treatment can provide clinical benefits to patients that may reduce other costs not…

As Congress begins debate this week to overhaul the U.S. tax code, lawmakers should leave the Orphan Drug Act (ODA) — and the tax incentives it offers pharmaceutical companies to develop therapies for rare diseases — off the table. That’s the message being pushed by the National Organization for…

Hemophilia patients are taking heart from a number of innovative treatment approaches that have reached the clinical trials stage. Researchers at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia offered a rundown on the advances in an article in the journal Blood titled “Novel approaches to hemophilia therapy: successes and challenges.” They include …

Knowledge about the clinical benefits of treatments and their importance in the outcome of patients, as well as more stable therapies, will likely improve treatment adherence among hemophilia patients in the U.S., according to new research. The study, “Treatment adherence in hemophilia,” was conducted by Dr. Courtney Thornburg, medical…