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European authorities must step up efforts to screen babies for a multitude of genetic disorders, a panel of experts suggested during a May 14-15 online medical conference. The session was part of the 10th European Conference on Rare Diseases & Orphan Products (ECRD2020) — which was to have occurred…

Dara Riva always had a rule that her 10-year-old son could play video games only once a week. But then the COVID-19 pandemic struck, and her perspective changed. Riva’s son, Maximilian, has cystic fibrosis (CF), making him particularly susceptible to COVID-19 and the complications that can arise from it.

Eurordis, a Paris-based coalition of national rare disease associations across Europe, hosted its first all-virtual conference, bringing some 1,500 delegates from 57 countries together online during the COVID-19 pandemic. The 10th European Conference on Rare Diseases & Orphan Products (ECRD2020) — which was set for May 14–15 in…

Three hemophilia B patients said they were able to lead a relatively normal life, including being more active and participating in sports, about three years after receiving the investigational gene therapy AMT-060 in a clinical trial. Their experiences were reported in the study, “The Patient…

Despite the COVID-19 pandemic, BioMarin Pharmaceutical‘s application to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) seeking approval of valoctocogene roxaparvovec, an experimental gene therapy for adults with severe hemophilia A, remains on track. During a conference call, the company also said that if approved, the…

The Rare Diseases Clinical Research Network (RDCRN) has opened an online survey to better understand how the COVID-19 outbreak is affecting people with rare diseases, their families, and caregivers. Survey questions cover a patient’s physical and mental health, supply of treatments, and access to healthcare, among other…